Researchers at Firefly Bio Inc. have prepared antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising monoclonal antibodies targeting HER2 covalently linked to stimulator of interferon genes protein (STING; TMEM173) agonists through a linker. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune disease, inflammation and infections.
Pathios Therapeutics Ltd. has been awarded a £567,000 (~US$727,000) grant from the U.K. Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, that will enable the company to expand its development of novel small-molecule GPR65 inhibitors into the area of malignant brain tumors.
Among all human papillomavirus (HPV) types described so far, the two most abundant – HPV16 and HPV18 – are responsible for 71% of all cervical cancers. The vaccines currently used are effective in preventing viral infection, but have no effect on already infected or maligned cells.
Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has entered into a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Adimab LLC to discover and develop innovative antibody drugs in the oncology field.
Glycotope GmbH and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association have signed an agreement to explore the potential of combining Glycotope’s antibodies against protein/carbohydrate combined glyco-epitopes (Glycotargets) with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology developed by the Max Delbrück Center.
Mitochondria regulate many processes that are altered in cancer cells, from metabolism to oxidative stress to apoptosis. The metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells promotes an immunosuppressive environment that drives cancer progression. However, in a recent study, researchers from the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences have identified succinate as a metabolite that accumulated due to specific disturbances in the mitochondrial electron transport chain.
Debiopharm SA has entered into an exclusive option and license agreement with Sunrock Biopharma SL to advance the development of specifically targeted antibodies.
Replay Holdings LLC has announced a research collaboration between Jura Bio Inc. and Syena, a cell therapy product company launched by Replay and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center earlier this year, to develop T-cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies.
A new method of CAR T-cell immunotherapy developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine could serve as a treatment for most blood cancers. Until now, CAR T-based immunotherapy for hematological malignancies has targeted the antigens CD19 for B cells, CD7 for T cells, BCMA for myeloma, and CD33 for AML.