Context Therapeutics Inc. has selected CTIM-76, a T cell-engaging bispecific antibody, as its lead clinical development candidate to target Claudin-6 (CLDN6)-positive cancers. Resulting from a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Integral Molecular Inc., CTIM-76 is a CLDN6 x CD3 bispecific antibody that incorporates a highly selective CLDN6 binding arm and a CD3 binding single-chain Fv domain in an IgG format with a silenced Fc that is designed to be functionally monovalent to avoid aberrant T-cell activation and to enhance the safety profile.
Does cancer cause autoimmune disease or is it the other way around? In looking at the question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg, researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia found that a genetic mutation that alters immune cells in leukemia is behind certain autoimmune disorders.
A combination of radiation therapy and CD47 blockade induced an abscopal effect in animal studies even in animals that lacked T cells, researchers reported in the Nov. 21, 2022, online issue of Nature Cancer.
Trophoblast glycoprotein, also known as 5T4, is widely expressed in several solid tumors; cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47) is an ubiquitous immune checkpoint receptor that is also overexpressed in many solid tumors as well as in hematological cancers. A Yuhan Corp. research team has presented preclinical results on YH-38560, a bispecific fusion protein that targets both 5T4 and CD4 for the potential treatment of solid tumors.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are known suppressors of immunity activation in the tumor microenvironment, and a high density of Tregs is tied to a poor response to cancer immunotherapy, with CCR8+ Tregs identified as being highly suppressive. Ctm Bio Co. therefore have studied the CCR8 antagonist antibody CTM-033 in preclinical cancer models.
Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 3DL3 (KIR3DL3) is a member of the killer cell Ig-like (KIR) receptor family. When KIR3DL3 is expressed on T and natural killer (NK) cells in the tumor microenvironment, it suppresses immune responses following engagement with HHLA2, suggesting that the KIR3DL3-HHLA2 axis potentially represents a novel immune checkpoint pathway and that blockade of KIR3DL3 signaling could promote antitumor immunity.
Investigators from Immunos Therapeutics AG aimed to develop novel anticancer therapies by using a reverse rational approach from HLA class I molecules with the aim to induce autoimmunity, and they identified HLA-B*57 as a well-known genetic factor associated with superior control of viral infections through processes not linked with peptide presentation.
Treatment with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors is not effective in all cases, and around 10% of melanoma patients actually experience a rapid deterioration, a phenomenon known as hyperprogressive disease. Some studies have linked hyperprogression to specific immune cell populations or genes, and it remains unclear if this complication can be directly attributed to checkpoint immunotherapy or not.
Jiangsu Mabwell Health Pharmaceutical R&D Co. Ltd. and Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Co. Ltd. have synthesized antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) consisting of antibodies targeting nectin-4 covalently linked to cytotoxic drugs through a linker reported to be useful for treatment of cancer.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common type of primary brain tumor in adults, with only a 7% rate of 5-year overall survival for patients. Oncolytic viruses based on HSV-1 vectors are an interesting and to-explore area for GBM treatment.
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