Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by antigen-presenting cells that plays a central role in shaping cell-mediated immune responses. It promotes the activation and effector function of natural killer cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes and drives the differentiation of CD4+ T cells toward a T helper 1 phenotype.

IL-10-based approaches have shown promise in cancer immunotherapy by activating exhausted CD8+ T cells, but severe hematological toxicities have limited their clinical use. Recent strategies aim to harness IL-10’s antitumor effects while reducing these toxicities.

Scientists at Ghent University have created a mouse model that incorporates human versions of the receptors that recognize the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of immunoglobulin G (IgG), one of the most abundant antibodies in the blood and a key mediator of essential immune functions such as cellular activation, pathogen elimination and the regulation of inflammatory responses. These human Fcγ receptors allow the humanized mouse to more accurately reproduce IgG-driven biology, enabling more reliable and safer preclinical assays before evaluating monoclonal antibodies in clinical trials with people.

Kahimmune Therapeutics SAS has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Gustave Roussy and SATT Paris-Saclay. Created at the end of last year as a spin-off of Gustave Roussy and SATT Paris-Saclay, Kahimmune builds on the latest discoveries in immunology relating to the dark genome.

ABL Bio Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA seeking clearance to begin a phase I trial of ABL-209 (NEOK-002). Pending approval, the trial is expected to begin by mid-year in the U.S.

Onchilles Pharma Inc. has obtained IND approval from the FDA for N-17350, enabling initiation of first-in-human studies in patients with advanced solid tumors. The study will enroll patients in the U.S. and Australia with advanced solid tumors.

Kazia Therapeutics Ltd. has announced promising preclinical and translational data supporting the development of NDL-2, a protein degrader targeting a newly identified mechanism of immunotherapy resistance and metastatic progression.

To address the dual bottlenecks of immunosuppressive cell infiltration and impaired T-cell function in the tumor microenvironment (TME), researchers from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University (China) aimed to develop an engineered bispecific peptide-nanozyme conjugate (BsPNEC) targeting PD-L1 and CXCR1/2.

Despite the successful application of adoptive T-cell transfer with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells for the treatment of various hematologic malignancies, several other hematologic disorders, such as BCR::ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), still lack effective treatment options.