Biomarker data from Alligator Bioscience’s OPTIMIZE-1 trial presented at ASCO 2025 Annual Meeting

On June 3, 2025 Alligator Bioscience (Nasdaq Stockholm: ATORX) reported that biomarker data from its OPTIMIZE-1 clinical trial were presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (Press release, Alligator Bioscience, JUN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234653629]).

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OPTIMIZE-1 is a Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating mitazalimab in combination with mFOLFIRINOX in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPDAC). The study has demonstrated strong clinical outcomes to date, including a ~30% survival rate at 24 months and a median overall survival of 14.9 months.

The biomarker analyses highlighted mitazalimab’s immunological mechanism of action, with immune activation in responding patients and gene signatures associated with clinical benefit and improved survival. These results support continued development of mitazalimab, including a planned confirmatory trial in mPDAC.

"ASCO continues to be a cornerstone event for clinical oncology, and it was a privilege to share our OPTIMIZE-1 data with the international community," said Søren Bregenholt, CEO of Alligator Bioscience. "The high level of engagement and many productive meetings we’ve had during the conference further validate the growing interest in mitazalimab and its potential in pancreatic cancer."
The presentation poster is available on Alligator’s website. Alligator’s participation at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) is part of its broader commitment to scientific collaboration and strategic business development.

AimedBio secures 38 million USD in a pre-IPO funding round

On June 2, 2025 AimedBio reported it has successfully secured $38 million in a Pre-IPO funding round. The round was led by existing key investors—InterVest, DS Asset Management, Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation, and SMB Investment Partners. Mirae Asset Securities joined as the sole new investor.

With the newly secured funding, AimedBio plans to accelerate the development of its next-generation ADC pipeline and advance preparations for global clinical trials. Following the licensing of its lead asset, AMB302, to U.S.-based Biohaven in December 2024, the company is now focusing on the preclinical development of the next candidates AMB303 and AMB304. At the same time, AimedBio aims to significantly expand its pipeline through next-generation ADC platform technologies.

Dr. Nam-Gu Her, CEO of AimedBio stated, "This Pre-IPO round closed earlier than expected, reflecting strong confidence from our existing shareholders. Mirae Asset Securities’ participation signals growing market confidence in AimedBio’s vision and potential."

"Based on our successful licensing deal to date, AimedBio is projected to achieve operating profitability for two consecutive half-years—the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025. This is a significant milestone, as it demonstrates that the company has moved beyond potential to proving its ability to generate sustainable revenue," he added.

AimedBio also noted, "Additional technology licensing deals are expected within this year, and with the rapid expansion of our preclinical pipeline, we are set to accelerate high-growth momentum. Through the development of globally competitive ADC therapies, we aim to provide meaningful treatment options to patients and continuously enhance corporate value."

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(Press release, AimedBio, JUN 2, 2025, View Source;s_keyword=&s_where=&start=0 [SID1234656917])

RemeGen Announces Trial Results of c-Met Targeted ADC for Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

On June 2, 2025 RemeGen reported data from phase 1b/2 clinical trial of RC108 in combination with furmonertinib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on EGFR-TKI treatment, and the results showed obvious synergistic effect between RC108 and furmonertinib (Press release, RemeGen, JUN 2, 2025, View Source;cid=115&id=2661 [SID1234656124]).

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RC108 is a c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-MET) targeted ADC developed by RemeGen. It binds to MET with high affinity and precisely delivers cytotoxins into c-MET-expressing tumor cells. Furmonertinib is a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) developed by Allist Pharmaceuticals.

Studies have shown that MET-overexpression is the main resistance mechanism for the progression of EGFR-TKI treatment. RC108 has a good killing effect on tumor cells with different MET expression levels. The results of phase 1 study (NCT04617314) showed that the objective response rate (ORR) of RC108 alone in patients with MET-overexpressing (≥ IHC 1+) locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who have progressed on EGFR-TKI treatment was 33%.

The study presented at 2025 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) is an open, single-arm, multicenter phase 1b/2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profile of RC108 in treatment of patients, aiming to provide a reference basis for the development of a rational combination dosing regimen for subsequent studies.

Results of the analysis up to April 11, 2025 showed that RC108 in combination with furmonertinib demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with MET-overexpressing locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with a manageable safety profile:

• In patients with ≥1+ tumor cells membrane staining and ≤20% tumor cells with strong (3+) cytoplasmic staining, ORR was 40.5%, and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.1 months.

• In patients with ≥3+ tumor cells membrane staining and ≤20% tumor cells with strong (3+) cytoplasmic staining, ORR was 61.1%, and median PFS was 8.2 months.

• Common AEs included: asthenia, nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, etc.

RemeGen is currently preparing phase 3 clinical study of this combination therapy.

Minerva Biotechnologies – Overcoming the Solid Tumor Barrier: MUC1*-Targeted CAR T bearing 1XX mutations overcomes exhaustion and enables killing of low antigen expressing cancer cells

On June 2, 2025 Minerva Biotechnologies reported "Effective CAR T cell targeting of a MUC1 cleavage product" in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer View Source (Press release, Minerva Biotechnologies, JUN 2, 2025, View Source;Overcoming-the-Solid-Tumor-Barrier-MUC1-Targeted-CAR-T-bearing-1XX-mutations-overcomes-exhaustion-and-enables-killing-of-low-antigen-expressing-cancer-cells [SID1234653662]).

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Novel target, MUC1*, is a cancer-specific growth factor receptor that is expressed on the surface of 75% of solid tumors. In this study, we compared the efficacy, persistence and antigen sensitivity of three MUC1* CARs, all directed to the tumor by the same antibody fragment, but bearing different co-stimulatory domains and one construct bearing the 1XX mutations in the CD3ζ cytoplasmic domain.

We showed that in animal models, the MUC1* CAR-1XX increased CAR T-cell persistence and suppressed tumor recurrence by enabling the killing of low antigen-expressing cancer cells. "These findings in stringent animal models are very encouraging for developing 1XX CAR T cells to treat solid tumors," said Michel Sadelain, inventor of the 1XX technology. "They further underscore the promise of targeting the cleaved form of MUC1 known as MUC1*."

The in vivo efficacy of MUC1* targeted CAR-1XX T cells against heterogeneous tumors comprising defined percentages of low vs high antigen expressing cancer cells predicts that a large patient population could be treated with MUC1* targeted CAR T immunotherapy.

Although MUC1 has been known for 30 years to be aberrantly expressed in 75% of solid tumors, no therapeutic targeting MUC1 has ever been Food and Drug Administration approved. Part of the problem is that the identification of exactly which form of MUC1 drives tumor growth and metastasis has been controversial. The development of a MUC1* antibody that selectively recognizes the cancer-associated growth factor receptor form, as described here, is an important advance.

Minerva has an FDA-approved IND for a MUC1*-CAR22 that persists longer in vivo enabling a more durable response in solid tumor treatment.

We thank Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the license to 1XX technology.

BeOne Medicines Unveils Promising Clinical Data for Two Novel Breast Cancer Therapies at ASCO 2025

On June 2, 2025 BeOne Medicines Ltd. (NASDAQ: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, reported new clinical data from its emerging breast cancer pipeline at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Chicago (Press release, BeOne Medicines, JUN 2, 2025, View Source [SID1234653661]). Poster presentations feature preliminary results of the dose escalation studies of two investigational molecules: BG-C9074, a novel B7-H4-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) in patients with advanced solid tumors, including breast cancer, and BG-68501, a cyclin-dependent kinase-2 inhibitor (CDK2i), in HR+/HER2- breast cancer patients with prior CDK4/6i exposure.

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"Presenting the first clinical data for two novel breast cancer candidates at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2025 marks a pivotal moment for BeOne," said Mark Lanasa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Solid Tumors at BeOne. "These early results highlight the strong potential of our B7-H4-targeting ADC and CDK2 inhibitor to address critical gaps in breast cancer treatment. Alongside our advancing CDK4 inhibitor, they represent just the beginning of a pipeline built on targeted, biology-driven innovation. As we debut our new identity as BeOne, this milestone reflects the momentum behind our science and our commitment to delivering impactful therapies to cancer patients worldwide."

BeOne is advancing a robust pipeline of differentiated investigational medicines for breast cancer that may both effectively combat the disease and potentially improve quality of life for patients receiving treatment.

BG-C9074, a B7-H4-targeting ADC (Abstract #3033)

BeOne presented initial results of the ongoing first-in-human, Phase 1a dose escalation study of BG-C9074 monotherapy in 78 patients with advanced solid tumors, of which more than a quarter were breast cancer patients. BG-C9074, an investigational topoisomerase I inhibitor ADC that targets the B7-H4 protein, which is broadly expressed in breast and gynecologic cancers, is designed with an innovative drug linker to deliver a potent cancer-killing drug directly to the cancer cells.

With limited follow-up among the 56 efficacy-evaluable patients, preliminary clinical responses were observed at multiple dose levels across various tumor types without selection for B7-H4 expression in these heavily pretreated patients. Confirmed overall response rate (ORR) was 16.1% (9/56; 95% CI: 7.6%–28.3%), with 9 confirmed partial responses; unconfirmed ORR was 25.0% (14/56; 14.4%-38.4%) (n=14 partial responses). Confirmed disease control rate (DCR) was 73.2% (59.7%-84.2%) and confirmed clinical benefit rate (CBR) was 17.9% (8.9%-30.4%). Pharmacokinetics (PK) were observed to be approximately dose-proportional across dose levels.

BG-C9074 showed a manageable safety and tolerability profile in patients with B7-H4 advanced solid tumors, including breast cancer. There were 5 dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) reported among 3 dose levels, all related to treatment: grade 3 fatigue (n=1); grade 3 febrile neutropenia (n=2); and grade 4 platelet count decreased (n=2). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were nausea, fatigue, and neutropenia*. The most common grade ≥3 TEAEs were neutropenia and thrombocytopenia†. There were no TEAEs leading to treatment discontinuation or death.

These data support the continued development of BG-C9074 in patients with advanced solid tumors. (NCT06233942)

BG-68501, a CDK2 inhibitor (Abstract# 3115)

Dose-escalation data from the first-in-human, Phase 1a study of a novel CDK2 inhibitor, BG-68501, were presented as a poster today. BG-68501 is designed to address elevated CDK2 activity as well as cyclin E1-driven upregulation, two key resistance mechanisms that often limit the effectiveness of CDK4/6 inhibitors in treating HR+/HER2- breast cancer. CDK inhibitors target checkpoint proteins that control cell division to stop the growth of cancer cells.

A total of 57 enrolled patients with advanced solid tumors, including 19 patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer, received BG-68501 as monotherapy or in combination with fulvestrant in escalating dose cohorts (all received prior CDK4/6i).

Of the 37 efficacy-evaluable patients (all with monotherapy), unconfirmed overall response rate (ORR) was 5.4% (2/37; 95% CI: 0.7%–18.2%). Two extensively pretreated patients (5.4%) experienced unconfirmed partial response (PR), 15 patients (40.5%) had stable disease (SD), 15 patients (40.5%) had progressive disease (PD), and 5 patients (13.5%) were not evaluable/not assessed. Of the 2 patients with PR, both were breast cancer patients, and one was ongoing with treatment at the time of data cutoff, while the other had discontinued treatment. Unconfirmed clinical benefit rate (CBR) was 8.1% (3/37; 95% CI: 1.7%-21.9%) and unconfirmed disease control rate (DCR) was 45.9% (17/37; 95% CI: 29.5%-63.1%). BG-68501 demonstrated a linear PK profile consistent with preclinical data and signs of pharmacodynamic responses.

BG-68501 demonstrated a manageable safety and tolerability profile, with no DLTs observed to date during dose escalation. The most common TEAEs were vomiting, nausea, and fatigue, and TEAEs leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 4 patients (7%) across all dose levels. There were no TEAEs leading to death.

The data support continued development of BG-68501 as a next-line option for tumors with CDK2 dependency. (NCT06257264)

For additional information about our presence at the 2025 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, please visit our meeting hub: congress.beonemedicines.com.

BeOne will host an investor R&D Day on June 26 at 8:30 am ET covering its deep and broad global innovation pipeline and platforms, as well as the Company’s vision, differentiated capabilities, and value creation drivers. A live webcast will be accessible from the investors section of BeOne’s website at View Source, View Source, or View Source An archived replay will be available for 90 days following the event.

About Our Breast Cancer Pipeline

BeOne is advancing a robust portfolio of investigational medicines for breast cancer, including three molecules in clinical development – two cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, BGB-43395, a CDK4 inhibitor, and BG-68501, a CDK2 inhibitor, and an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), BG-C9074. BeOne also plans to evaluate the potential of BCL2 inhibition in breast cancer, with next-generation BCL2 inhibitor, BGB-21447, expected to begin clinical testing in solid tumor indications soon. Multispecific antibodies and targeted protein degraders with potential applications in breast cancer are among the preclinical assets being developed.

About Breast Cancer

Breast cancer accounts for close to one in four cancer cases and one in six cancer deaths in women worldwide.1 Globally, breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the fourth highest cause of cancer mortality as well as the leading cause of cancer death in women.1 More than 2.3 million patients were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, and over 666,000 deaths were reported globally.1 Approximately two-thirds of breast cancer cases are the HR+/HER2- subtype.