Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is an IL-6 type cytokine involved in the inflammatory response, stem cell self-renewal and tumor progression, that binds to LIFR and gp130 on the cell surface. LIF is overexpressed in several types of cancer such as pancreatic, breast or prostate cancer and thus is considered a therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.

Invenra Inc.’s bispecific antibody, INV-724, developed for the treatment of neuroblastoma, has been awarded orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations by the FDA.

Adcendo ApS and Multitude Therapeutics Inc. have signed a licensing agreement for the development of a highly differentiated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting tissue factor, designated ADCE-T02.

Medigene AG has provided a pipeline update in its half-year report for the first half of 2024. The company, which develops T cell receptor (TCR)-guided therapies for the treatment of cancer, confirmed for following positive EU and U.S. preliminary regulatory interactions, is on track for filing an IND in Q3 and a CTA in Q4 of 2024 for its lead candidate MDG-1015.

Cidara Therapeutics Inc. announced in its Q2 filing that it received IND clearance for its drug-Fc conjugate (DFC) immunotherapy CBO-421 in July of 2024.

Lantern Pharma Inc. has presented new data on their novel acylfulvene compound LP-184 as a DNA-damaging agent that induces DNA double-strand breaks (DNA DSBs) in cancer cells and may activate immune responses by activation of the cGAS/STING pathway.

Researchers from Mustbio Co. Ltd. and Chung-Ang University have presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of MB-2033, a novel bispecific fusion protein being developed for the treatment of cancer.

Investigators at McMaster University have developed a CAR T cell that targeted roundabout guidance receptor 1 (ROBO1).

Cellular immunotherapy is the Lamine Yamal of cancer therapy. It is easy to forget how young the field is – and that as stunning as it is to watch in action already, it is still reaching its full potential. One aspect of doing so is working in a broader range of tumor types. The field made a giant step toward that goal with last week’s approval of Tecelra (afamitresgene autoleucel, Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc), the first CAR T cell to be approved for treatment of a solid tumor.