DXC-006 (Hangzhou DAC Biotechnology Co. Ltd.) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets CD56, a molecule involved in cell-cell adhesion and cell-matrix adhesion that is overexpressed in neuroblastoma, small-cell lung cancer and multiple myeloma, but less frequently expressed in normal tissues. DXC-006 consists of an anti-CD56 antibody (DXA-006) linked to the topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) inhibitor CPT-116 through a linker.
The discovery of a potent, selective and orally bioavailable serine/threonine-protein kinase PLK4 (STK18) inhibitor with synthetic lethality in TRIM7-amplified cancers was reported by Oric Pharmaceuticals Inc. at the ongoing AACR meeting in San Diego.
Researchers from Puhe Biopharma Co. Ltd. presented the discovery and preclinical evaluation of PH027-1, a novel small-molecule Werner syndrome protein (WRN) inhibitor targeting microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) tumors.
Prior to this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), it had been 14 years since metastasis had been the subject of a plenary session. So, the Tuesday session on “Evolution of the genome, microenvironment, and host through metastasis” had plenty of new insights to share.
Stable disease in about half the patients tested wasn’t enough for Wall Street, and shares of Vincerx Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:VINC) nosedived by $3.72, or 78%, to close April 9 at $1.06 on the disclosure of preliminary phase I data with small-molecule drug conjugate VIP-236 in metastatic solid tumors.
M-9140 (Merck KGaA) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that carries a DNA topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) inhibitor payload plus an antibody directed against carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5). CEACAM5 is a cell surface protein that is overexpressed in colorectal cancer and other solid tumors.
ABM Therapeutics Inc. presented a novel small-molecule, ATP-uncompetitive, phosphorylated MEK (pMEK) inhibitor – ABM-4095 – that potently prevents phosphorylation of MEK by RAF with moderate inhibition of MEK kinase activity; it is being investigated for the potential treatment of pancreatic cancer.
At the AACR meeting, Innovent Biologics Inc. discussed the discovery and preclinical evaluation of a B7-H3/EGFR bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (bsADC).
“Hot and cold tumors may need different types of immunotherapy,” Jay Berzofsky told the audience as the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) 2024 annual meeting kicked off this weekend. In an educational session on cancer vaccines, Berzofsky, who is head of the National Cancer Institute’s Molecular Immunogenetics and Vaccine Research section, explained that when immunotherapy fails in hot tumors, it fails despite the existence of an immune response, due to an immunosuppressive microenvironment.
Pfizer Inc. has presented preclinical data on its first-in-class, selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) inhibitor compound, PF-07220060, that has shown 20-fold and 4-fold increased selectivity for CDK4 vs. CDK6 compared to palbociclib and abemaciclib/ribociclib, respectively.