Work at Aligos Therapeutics Inc. has led to the discovery of new programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1; PD-1; CD279)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1; CD274) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B.
In an isomerization reaction, uridine is modified to pseudouridine, the most abundant RNA modification which presents an extra hydrogen bond donor, altering the RNA structure and providing unique chemical properties.
Cartography Biosciences Inc. has closed a $67 million series B financing to support its pipeline of T-cell engaging bispecific and multispecific antibody therapeutics that target novel and highly specific tumor antigens.
Researchers at Alligator Bioscience AB and Lund University have developed a bispecific therapeutic antibody, ATOR-4066, that simultaneously targets the immune cell receptor CD40 and the tumor antigen CEACAM5.
Ovarian cancer remains unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors due to its ability to suppress cytotoxicity from immune cells that are infiltrating the tumor, where the O-glycosylation pathway may be disrupted. Precision Biologics Inc. is developing PB-vcMMAE-5, an antibody-drug conjugate composed of the monoclonal antibody PB-223, which targets tumor-specific truncated core-2 O-glycans, conjugated to microtubule inhibitor MMAE and with a drug-to-antibody ratio of 3.92.
Two independent studies applied CRISPR-based genetic editing – one to treat leukemia and the other to target myeloma – to overcome the challenges faced by CAR T cells, such as exhaustion, impaired activation and fratricide, a phenomenon in which they attack each other.
Checkpoint inhibitors have transformed cancer therapy by enhancing immune responses against tumors. However, their effectiveness is limited, as many patients do not respond due to the absence of a pre-existing immunity against the cancer cells. Addressing this gap requires new immunotherapies that can promote cancer-cell antigen recognition and engage multiple immune pathways to effectively reprogram the tumor microenvironment and stimulate a robust antitumor response.
Simcere Zaiming Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained IND clearance by the FDA for SIM-0609, a CDH17-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. An IND was also approved in China earlier this month.
Antibodies that bind to sugars on the surface of cancer cells, rather than to proteins, have not yielded satisfactory results so far due to their low binding affinity. However, scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have developed therapeutic proteins that recognize so-called tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) using lectins with a robust structure resembling velcro. This design is highly specific and eliminates only tumor cells, regardless of cancer type, while sparing healthy tissues.