Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and presents a 5-year survival rate of under 12%. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, with over half of them presenting with metastatic disease at diagnosis.
Leukogene Therapeutics Inc.’s lead product candidate LTI-214 (M2T-CD33) has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
SVF Vaccines AB, a portfolio company of Karolinska Development AB, has presented positive results from a preclinical study of its immunotherapy SVF-001 targeting chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and D viruses (HDV).
Moonlight Therapeutics Inc.’s IND application for MOON-101 has been cleared by the FDA, paving the way for a first clinical trial in adults and children with peanut allergy.
Athernal Bio Ltd. has launched, supported by £3.5 million (US$4.7 million) in funding and with a focus on the development of targeted immunotherapies for early intervention in high-risk clonal hematopoiesis, a cancer precursor condition which can lead to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematological cancers.
Pop Biotechnologies Inc. has been awarded a $2.46 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to pursue development of a ‘mosaic’ active immunotherapy against Alzheimer’s disease.
Checkpoint inhibitors have transformed cancer therapy by enhancing immune responses against tumors. However, their effectiveness is limited, as many patients do not respond due to the absence of a pre-existing immunity against the cancer cells. Addressing this gap requires new immunotherapies that can promote cancer-cell antigen recognition and engage multiple immune pathways to effectively reprogram the tumor microenvironment and stimulate a robust antitumor response.
