One of the building blocks for newly launched Clasp Therapeutics Corp. is making the right patient choices for treatment. If those who receive the company’s therapy are correctly identified, CEO Robert Ross told BioWorld, it will have a profound effect on outcomes. The missing link in cancer treatment, Ross added, was how to identify a patient, something he said Clasp is able to do.
Merus NV added Gilead Sciences Inc. to its collaboration roster, entering a deal potentially worth more than $1.5 billion. While its previous agreements have focused primarily on bispecific antibodies, the Gilead alliance takes aim at trispecifics, antibodies capable of binding three targets at once. In other news, shares of Biomx Inc. (NYSE:PHGE) jumped 194% March 6, ending the day at 68 cents, up 45 cents, on news that it was merging with fellow phage-focused company Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc. and raised $50 million in a concurrent private placement.
Crossbow Therapeutics Inc. has nominated its first development candidate, CBX-250, a first-in-class, potent and specific T-cell engager (TCE) for the treatment of myeloid leukemia. CBX-250 targets a cathepsin G (CTSG) peptide-human leukocyte antigen (pHLA) complex abundantly expressed on leukemic cells, but not on normal cells.
T-cell-engaging antibodies (TCEs) are synthetic molecules that redirect T cells to bind to the antigens on the surface of cancer cells to promote tumor elimination. In the case of multiple myeloma (MM), the approvals of anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T) targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) or, more recently, bispecific TCEs represent great advances, but some patients still relapse after treatment.
Strong early data of Janux Therapeutics Inc.’s tumor-activated T-cell engager compounds JANX-007 and JANX-008 sent the San Diego-based company’s shares surging by 229%, indicating enthusiasm for their best-in-class potential and the possibility of tapping into multibillion-dollar prostate cancer and solid tumor markets.
CDR-Life Inc. has announced FDA clearance of an IND application for CDR-404, its lead program in development as a precision immunotherapy for solid tumors.
Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and Ctm Biotech Co. Ltd. have reported progress in the development of a trispecific T-cell engager for an intracellular target.
Five months after the first anti-CD20xCD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibody, Roche Holding AG’s Lunsumio (mosunetuzumab), cleared U.S. FDA approval for follicular lymphoma, partners Genmab A/S and Abbvie Inc. won the agency’s approval for epcoritamab as the first subcutaneous CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
