Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway are widely used in cancer immunotherapy, but poor tissue distribution or immune-related adverse events often limit their application.

Alentis Therapeutics AG has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for ALE.P02, an anti-Claudin-1 (CLDN1) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) with a tubulin inhibitor payload.

Spima Therapeutics SAS has announced its launch with a focus on developing innovative peptide-based immunotherapies for difficult-to-reach targets, especially protein-protein interactions.

Cartherics Pty Ltd. has raised over its target of AU$15 million (US$10.3 million) in an oversubscribed private financing round. Funding will support a clinical trial for CTH-401, the company’s lead cell therapy for ovarian cancer, and expand its pipeline to include other diseases.

Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI) has announced a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to evaluate IGI’s selective, orally active Casitas B-lineage lymphoma b (Cbl-b) inhibitor GRC-65327.

Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd. recently reported on the development and preclinical characterization of a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrating oligonucleotide drug, RBD-8088, for the treatment of glioblastoma.

The FDA has cleared an IND application for a phase I/II study of KSQ-004EX, KSQ Therapeutics Inc.’s second engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL) program. KSQ-004EX consists of TIL in which the genes encoding SOCS1 and Regnase-1 are inactivated using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.

Innate Pharma SA has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for IPH-4502, its novel and differentiated topoisomerase I inhibitor antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) conjugated to exatecan targeting Nectin-4 in solid tumors. In nonclinical models, IPH-45 was well tolerated and showed antitumor efficacy in vitro and in vivo.