On April 11, 2023 Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO) ("Xenetic" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative immune-oncology technologies addressing hard to treat cancers, reported that it has entered into a Research Funding and Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with The Scripps Research Institute ("TSRI") to advance the development of the Company’s systemic DNase program as well as its DNase-armored CAR T program (Press release, Xenetic Biosciences, APR 11, 2023, https://ir.xeneticbio.com/news/detail/135/xenetic-biosciences-inc-announces-research-and-development-collaboration-with-the-scripps-research-institute-to-advance-dnase-platform [SID1234629954]). The systemic DNase program is expected to be evaluated in combination with existing therapies for the potential treatment of pancreatic carcinoma and other solid tumor indications.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Xenetic’s DNase-based oncology platform is designed to target neutrophil extracellular traps ("NETs"), which are weblike structures composed of extracellular chromatin coated with histones and other proteins. NETs are expelled by activated neutrophils, in response to microbial or pro-inflammatory challenges. However, excessive production or reduced clearance of NETs can lead to aggravated inflammatory and autoimmune pathologies, as well as creation and support of pro-tumorigenic niches in the case of cancer growth and metastasis, thereby potentially limiting response to therapy.
"Scripps has been a long-standing valued collaboration partner of ours and we are pleased to further extend our relationship through this agreement for our DNase-based oncology platform. We believe that the team at Scripps is well-equipped to provide valuable insight and generate meaningful data in our preclinical development program as we work to advance toward the clinic. We look forward to exploring a platform technology that has the potential to generate much needed therapies for pancreatic carcinoma and other locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors," commented Jeffrey Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Xenetic.
Under the terms of the Scripps Research agreement, in addition to advancing Xenetic’s existing intellectual property, Xenetic has an option to acquire an exclusive license to any new intellectual property arising from the DNase research program. Xenetic is working toward its planned first-in-human study to evaluate DNase combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors or chemotherapy.