Context Therapeutics Inc. has selected CTIM-76, a T cell-engaging bispecific antibody, as its lead clinical development candidate to target Claudin-6 (CLDN6)-positive cancers. Resulting from a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Integral Molecular Inc., CTIM-76 is a CLDN6 x CD3 bispecific antibody that incorporates a highly selective CLDN6 binding arm and a CD3 binding single-chain Fv domain in an IgG format with a silenced Fc that is designed to be functionally monovalent to avoid aberrant T-cell activation and to enhance the safety profile.
Does cancer cause autoimmune disease or is it the other way around? In looking at the question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg, researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia found that a genetic mutation that alters immune cells in leukemia is behind certain autoimmune disorders.
Rgenta Therapeutics Inc.’s $52 million in a series A money will let the RNA-focused firm pursue its small-molecule drug efforts “for the next two or three years,” as candidates in cancer and neurology make their ways toward the clinic, said co-founder and CEO Simon Xi. “We’ll go where the science leads us,” he told BioWorld, adding that the cash on hand is sufficient to complete a phase I study.
Astrazeneca plc is beefing up its cell therapy capabilities in immuno-oncology by acquiring Neogene Therapeutics BV for an initial outlay of $200 million. There’s up to $120 million more on the table for undisclosed milestones and what the companies called a “non-contingent consideration.” Even without the additional earnouts, the deal represents a profitable return for Neogene’s shareholders. The Amsterdam-based firm had raised $110 million in a series A round in 2020, which represented the largest A round in Europe that year. Since then, it has started to move its first program, an autologous engineered T-cell receptor (TCR) T-cell therapy directed against up to five neoantigens, toward a phase I trial in patients with solid tumors.
A combination of radiation therapy and CD47 blockade induced an abscopal effect in animal studies even in animals that lacked T cells, researchers reported in the Nov. 21, 2022, online issue of Nature Cancer.
Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has synthesized sulfonamide-containing peptides acting as MMP-7 (matrilysin) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Scientists at the University of Turin and the University of Pisa have identified NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of inflammation, neurodegeneration, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and autoimmune and metabolic disease.
Molecure SA has received clearance from the Polish Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products to conduct the first clinical trial of OATD-02.
Researchers from Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. presented preclinical data for PH-109, a novel self-delivering RNAi targeting connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), which was originally developed and assessed in early clinical trials as potential treatment of dermal hypertrophic scarring and subretinal fibrosis. The current study evaluated PH-109 in a mouse model of metastatic breast cancer.
Ikena Oncology Inc. has nominated a next-generation mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-RAF complex inhibitor, IK-595, as the company's first development candidate in the RAS pathway. IK-595 traps MEK and RAF in an inactive complex, more completely inhibiting RAS signals than existing inhibitors.
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