CD40-targeting therapies have been proposed as an interesting alternative to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. In particular, bispecific CD40 antibodies can target CD40 more efficiently and safely than monospecific therapies. In a recent publication, researchers at Alligator Bioscience AB and collaborators demonstrate that bispecific antibodies targeting CD40 and tumor-associated antigens (TAA) can enhance priming of tumor-specific T cells in vivo.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. a US$3.1 million grant to support continued development of the company's Supernova-1 (SNV-1) preclinical program through IND application. The grant was awarded to Calidi to support IND-enabling studies, finalize manufacturing and the completion of Calidi's IND application for the SNV-1 program.

Treatment with anti-CD19 bispecific T-cell engager and CAR T therapies can lead to T-cell exhaustion and treatment failure. Novartis AG’s first-in-class anti-CD19, anti-CD3 and anti-CD2 IgG-like trispecific antibody PIT-565, which engages CD19+ on tumor cells, and CD3 (TCR signaling component) and CD2 (a costimulatory receptor) on T cells simultaneously to redirect T-cell cytotoxicity toward CD19-positive malignant B cells, has been designed to avoid T-cell exhaustion.

1st Biotherapeutics Inc. has received clearance from the FDA for its IND application to evaluate FB-849, a small-molecule hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Onchilles Pharma Inc. has nominated its first drug development candidate, N-17350, a first-in-class biologic therapeutic that is designed to leverage the immunobiology of neutrophils against a wide range of cancer types. Research published last year first described a pathway where human neutrophils release catalytically active neutrophil elastase, called ELANE, to selectively kill many cancer cell types while sparing noncancer cells.

Janssen Pharmaceutica NV reported on the company’s novel fully human immunoglobulin G1 CD79bxCD20xCD3 trispecific antibody JNJ-80948543, comprising an anti-CD3 ε single-chain variable fragment (scFv), an anti-CD20 scFv, and an anti-CD79b fragment antigen-binding (Fab) domain and an effector-silent Fc, designed to redirect T cells to treat patients whose disease no longer responds to previous lines of therapy.

While autologous cancer vaccines have held great promise as a personalized approach to treating individualized cancer types, their practical use has failed to deliver in the clinic to date largely owing to low efficacy in eliciting a tumor-specific response.

While tremendous progress has been achieved using immunotherapies for treating hematologic malignancies, there has been little change in the survival of cancer patients with solid tumors. One of the reasons may involve the distinctive limited expression of signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family member 7 (SLAMF7) on hematopoietic cancer cells and macrophages, creating a bridge connecting cells to enable a strong immune response, while SLAMF7 is not expressed on solid tumors at all.