At the ongoing AACR meeting, Amgen Inc. provided details on the discovery and preclinical characterization of AMG-305, a novel dual-targeting bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) molecule, being developed as a potential new anticancer agent. While BiTE molecules offer a targeted immune therapy approach to treat cancer, on-target toxicity from normal tissue target expression has been a key issue in the development of T-cell engager molecules in solid tumors.
Heterogeneity, in both tumors and their microenvironment, limits the success of current cancer treatments. But it also provides opportunities. Heterogeneities “are not barriers to therapy, they are vulnerabilities to be exploited,” was how David DeNardo described his take at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) on Sunday.
During what has become one of the slowest IPO years in recent memory, cancer immunotherapy company Cytomed Therapeutics Ltd. debuted on Nasdaq, raising $9.65 million, while inflammatory disease firm Acelyrin Inc. filed to list its stock for a potential $100 million. Up to this point, there were only six biopharma IPOs completed this year – the fewest since 2013. Cytomed, which priced 2.4 million shares at $4 apiece, is now the seventh for 2023, and the fifth on Nasdaq. Two other IPOs have closed on Chinese markets.
Torl Biotherapeutics LLC has raised $158 million in a series B round as it seeks to nudge its anti-Claudin-6 antibody-drug conjugate candidates, TORL-123 and TORL-2307, beyond phase I trials for the treatment of ovarian and gastric cancers, respectively. Claudin-6, or CLDN6, is a molecule that forms tight junctions around cells. It is highly expressed in a range of solid tumor types, so is a popular target for drug development.
Pyramid Biosciences Inc. has in-licensed Genequantum Healthcare Co. Ltd.’s preclinical trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), GQ-1010, in a deal worth up to $1 billion in potential milestones. Under the terms, Pyramid gains exclusive rights to develop and commercialize GQ-1010 globally, excluding greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). In exchange, privately held Genequantum, of Suzhou, China, will receive an up-front payment of $20 million and up to an additional $1 billion in milestone payments. Genequantum will also be eligible to receive tiered-based sales royalties.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignant subtype of esophageal cancer that predominantly occurs in East Asian countries. Although genomic aberrations and highly mutated genes, such as TP53, have been identified in advanced stages, the first occurrence of mutations and their related effects during ESCC carcinogenesis remain poorly understood.
Research at Incyte Corp. has led to the development of hetero-tricyclic compounds acting as GTPase KRAS (mutant) inhibitors and thus reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory and immunological disorders.
Mutations in fms-related receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) are related to the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Recent studies suggest that by regulating ROS production and antioxidant expression, oncogenes such as FLT3 directly influence leukemia progression, even during anticancer therapy.
It is known that in melanoma, transformed melanocytic cells acquire stem cell-like features; these cells have multilineage differentiation potential, thus allowing them to morph into cell states with neural crest cell (NCC)-like, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-like features, promoting its metastatic potential.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. have announced a partnership to leverage Ginkgo's proprietary high-throughput combinatorial chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) discovery and screening platform with the aim of discovering next-generation GD2 CAR T-cell therapies.
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