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ALX Oncology and Tallac Therapeutics Announce Collaboration on Novel Class of Cancer Immunotherapeutics
BURLINGAME, Calif., March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (“ALX Oncology”) (Nasdaq: ALXO), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapies that block the CD47 checkpoint pathway, and Tallac Therapeutics, Inc. (“Tallac”), a privately held biopharmaceutical company harnessing the power of innate and adaptive immunity to fight cancer, today announced a collaboration to jointly develop, manufacture, and commercialize a novel class of cancer immunotherapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, ALX Oncology and Tallac will share equally in the cost of research and development and any profits or losses incurred. The collaboration builds on ALX Oncology’s expertise in developing therapies that block the CD47 checkpoint pathway and expands its immuno-oncology pipeline. The collaboration also extends Tallac’s pipeline of next generation immunotherapies derived from its novel Toll-like Receptor Agonist Antibody Conjugate (“TRAAC”) platform. The companies will leverage their respective scientific and technical expertise to advance an anti-SIRPa antibody conjugated to a Toll-like receptor 9 (“TLR9”) agonist for targeted activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. “We are excited to partner with ALX Oncology in the development of next-generation breakthrough cancer immunotherapies,” said Hong I. Wan, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Tallac. “TLR9 agonists are a class of immunotherapy that generate both innate and adaptive immune responses which may produce robust and durable anti-cancer immunity for patients with advanced-stage cancers. While intratumoral TLR9 agonists have clinically validated this pathway, systemic administration has been unsuccessful, limiting clinical utility in broader patient populations. With Tallac’s TRAAC technology, we now have a way to target this pathway systemically, which could expand the clinical benefit to a much broader patient population. To date, we have generated promising preclinical data with multiple TRAAC molecules that demonstrates the potential of this pathway. The goal of our collaboration with ALX Oncology is to advance SIRPaTRAAC, a systemically delivered TLR9 agonist targeting dendritic cells via SIRPa receptors, enabling a powerful innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune response.” “Collaborating with Tallac and their novel TRAAC platform broadens ALX Oncology’s therapeutic strategies to activate the innate immune system and SIRPa TRAAC complements our lead product candidate, ALX148,” said Jaume Pons, Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ALX Oncology. “While ALX148 is an antagonistic molecule designed to maximize the activity of a wide array of anticancer agents by the blockade of the CD47 myeloid checkpoint, SIRPa TRAAC is an agonistic molecule that directly activates dendritic cells and enables a coordinated innate and adaptive immune response against cancer. Since SIRPa is expressed on both dendritic cells and a range of tumor types, SIRPa TRAAC may enable an effective immune activation response in advanced cancer settings. We are excited about this potentially transformative approach and the possible benefits to patients that are in need of new treatment options.” ALX Oncology and Tallac will host a conference call on Friday, March 5, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. EST to further discuss the collaboration. To access the conference call, please dial (844) 467-7655 (local) or (409) 983-9840 (international) at least 10 minutes prior to the start time and refer to conference ID 4117088. Presentation slides will be available to download under “News & Events” (see “Events”) in the investors section of the ALX Oncology website at www.alxoncology.com. About Tallac Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements ALX Oncology Investor Contact: Peter Garcia Chief Financial Officer, ALX Oncology (650) 466-7125 Ext. 113 [email protected] Argot Partners (212) 600-1902 [email protected] Media Contact: Karen Sharma MacDougall (781) 235-3060 [email protected] Tallac Therapeutics Media Contact: Tara Cooper The Grace Communication Group (650) 303-7306 [email protected] |