Zymeworks Inc. has received IND clearance from the FDA for ZW-191, the company’s novel folate receptor-α (FRα)-targeted topoisomerase I (TOPO1) inhibitor antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). Clinical development is set to begin this year, with filings to initiate studies outside the U.S. to be made in the second half of this year.
Catalym GmbH has closed a $150 million series D to take its first in class immune potentiator visugromab into phase IIb development in a number of solid tumors. The round follows on the heels of data from a phase I/IIa trial which showed visugromab in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor antibody Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol Myers Squibb) increased T-cell infiltration and generated durable antitumor responses in patients who had exhausted all other treatment options.
An article by Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. scientists reports data from a study designed to assess the potential of combining pharmacological inhibition of hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) with programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade as a novel strategy to enhance antitumor immunity against tumors with low antigenicity.