For 75 years, the standard tools for autoimmune disease have consisted of steroids, cytotoxics and broad biologics that tamp down the entire immune system. They can help, but they are rarely curative. “They’re blunt instruments,” Regcell Inc. CEO Mike McCullar told BioWorld. “They can’t distinguish good immune cells and bad immune cells,” which is why many carry black-box warnings and must be taken for years, sometimes for life.

Evaxion A/S has unveiled EVX-04, an AI-designed precision cancer vaccine candidate being developed for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

ADAM9 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 9) is overexpressed in several gastrointestinal cancers, with expression levels correlating with suppressive tumor microenvironment, metastasis and poor prognosis. DB-1317, under development at Duality Biologics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., is an ADAM9-targeting antibody-drug conjugate including a topoisomerase inhibitor payload P1003 at a drug-antibody ratio of 8.

For 75 years, the standard tools for autoimmune disease have consisted of steroids, cytotoxics and broad biologics that tamp down the entire immune system. They can help, but they are rarely curative. “They’re blunt instruments,” Regcell Inc. CEO Mike McCullar told BioWorld. “They can’t distinguish good immune cells and bad immune cells,” which is why many carry black-box warnings and must be taken for years, sometimes for life.

The overexpression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b) is tied to tumor progression in several malignancies, such as cholangiocarcinoma, HER2-negative gastric cancer and breast cancer. Lunan Pharmaceutical Group Corp. has developed a novel IgG1 monoclonal antibody against FGFR2b, LNF-2102, for the potential treatment of cancer.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. agreed to codevelop and commercialize up to three of Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd.’s immuno-oncology (I-O) and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates with the signing of a $11.4 billion deal, including $1.2 billion paid up front.