[April 21, 2015] |
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ImmuneXcite Presents New Preclinical Data at AACR Demonstrating Ability of Its Novel Cancer Immunotherapy Approach to Activate a Potent and Precise T-Cell Attack on Tumors
ImmuneXcite, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and
developing a new generation of innate and adaptive immune-activating
therapies for cancer, today announced new preclinical data demonstrating
that its mAbXcite platform sets into motion an immune cascade that
successfully recruits T-cells to mount a natural, precise and potent
attack against cancer in preclinical models of treatment-resistant
colorectal and breast cancers. These data were presented at the American
Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2015.
"ImmuneXcite's approach has the potential to generate precise and potent
therapies for patients with a range of solid tumors who currently have
no or limited treatment options," said Yaniv Bejerano, ImmuneXcite Chief
Executive Officer and Co-Founder. "Because of the novel mechanism of
action, this approach could also be used in combination with other
targeted therapies and immune-oncology drugs, which is widely believed
to be critical to the future of cancer treatment."
The mAbXcite platform represents a fundamentally new approach in the
quickly growing field of cancer immunotherapy, applying ImmuneXcite's
discoveries in fungal biology to trigger a natural and lasting immune
attack on cancer cells. By attaching a fungal sugar known as
beta-1,6-glucan to antibodies that seek out and bind to tumor cells,
mAbXcite therapies recruit neutrophils, the first responders of the
immune system, to cancer cells. The neutrophils then recruit other
immune cells, including T-cells, to mount a robust, targeted and lasting
immune attack.
"The power of this approach rest in the fact that it triggers the
body's natural defenses much earlier in the immune cascade than other
cancer immunotherapy approaches," said Ifat Rubin-Bejerano, Ph.D.,
ImmuneXcite Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder. "It taps into the
natural selectivity of our immune system, as well as its ability to
develop immune memory, potentially offering therapies that can
effectively attack cancer cells while sparing healthy ones and fend off
recurrences of the cancer."
The preclinical data presented at AACR provides clear evidence for the
first time that T-cells are recruited and activated by mAbxcite
therapies to attack cancer cells. Key findings of this research include:
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mAbXcite-trastuzumab inhibits tumor growth in treatment-resistant
models of breast cancer
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mAbXcite-cetuximab inhibits tumor growth in treatment-resistant models
of colorectal cancer
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Mice that responded to treatment with mAbXcite-cetuximab did not
develop new tumors when colorectal cancer cells were reintroduced,
demonstrating the development of immune memory and a lasting immune
response
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When T cells were artificially depleted from mice who had responded to
treatment with mAbXcite-cetuximab, tumor growth quickly accelerated,
providing evidence that T-cells had been successfully recruited and
were mounting an effective attack on the cancer cells
In additional studies performed in collaboration with Elizabeth Jaffee,
M.D., Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Gastrointestinal
Cancers Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and
Associate Director for Translational Research at the Sidney Kimmel
Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and Todd Armstrong, Ph.D.,
Research Associate at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the
mAbXcite platform was also tested in mice with fully intact immune
systems (syngeneic model), showing that:
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Neutrophils successfully infiltrated the immune-suppressive tumor
microenvironment
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Macrophages, another key player in the immune cascade, were recruited
to the tumor
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Cytotoxic CD8 T-cells were then recruited and activated to attack the
tumor
About ImmuneXcite
ImmuneXcite is a privately held biotech company based in Lexington,
Mass., that is developing the next generation of immune-activating
biotherapeutics for cancer using a fundamentally novel innate and
adaptive immunotherapy platform. The company's mAbXcite platform
recruits neutrophils, the first responders of the immune system, to
mount a natural, potent and precise attack on cancer cells. ImmuneXcite
has two lead drug candidates, based on its mAbXcite platform, for
cancers with high unmet medical needs. This bold concept has been
recognized and supported by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer
Center, the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the U.S. Department of Defense,
the Massachusetts Life Science Center, the National Cancer Institute and
private investors.
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