On July 29, 2025 BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (Nasdaq: BCTX, BCTXW, BCTXZ), (TSX: BCT) (" BriaCell "), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops novel immunotherapies to transform cancer care, and its majority owned subsidiary, BriaPro Therapeutics Corp. (" BriaPro "), reported that BriaPro is developing novel multivalent agents for cancer treatment (Press release, BriaCell Therapeutics, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234655035]). BriaPro has filed a provisional patent application for the underlying platform referred to as "TILsRx".

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The TILsRx platform enables simultaneous engagement of multiple tumor-associated and immune pathway targets. Multivalent agents (including antibodies, soluble receptors and cytokines) address immune suppression and T cell exhaustion often seen with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and aim to improve T cell activation and persistence in the tumor microenvironment. Designed to activate TILs and enhance TIL binding to tumor cells as well as block immune checkpoints that suppress anti-tumor responses, TILsRx agents are multifunctional in their cancer killing actions. Specific elements in TILsRx agents include soluble CD80, which has a dual function as an immune checkpoint inhibitor and as an immunostimulator, anti-CD3, which is a potent T cell activator, IL-21, which is an enhancer of cytotoxic T cell function, and anti-STEAP1 (STEAP1 is a cancer antigen expressed in prostate cancer among others). An early candidate target is B7-H3, a tumor antigen which is overexpressed in prostate, lung, breast, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer while minimally expressed in normal tissue.

"We have developed novel multivalent anti-cancer agents which we expect to be both highly selective and highly effective, maximizing on-target efficacy while minimizing off-target toxicity to provide improved clinical responses in multiple indications," stated Miguel Lopez-Lago, PhD, BriaCell and BriaPro CSO.

"The TILsRx platform reflects our goal to develop an effective and safe class of therapeutics for cancer patients. TILsRx agents combine shared core components that improve manufacturing efficiency with elements that target specific cell surface antigens. This strategy provides the flexibility to include new immunotherapy targets identified in the future. We look forward to advancing this exciting technology through pre-clinical and clinical stages," stated Markus D. Lacher, PhD, a key inventor of the technology.

"Our advanced multivalent technology provides us with a platform to quickly expand our proprietary pipeline of novel immuno-oncology programs in BriaPro in a cost-effective manner," stated Dr. William V. Williams, BriaPro and BriaCell President & CEO. "We anticipate that the multivalent approach will have activity against multiple types of cancers and may also synergize with BriaCell’s cell-based cancer vaccine programs."

On July 29, 2025 Merck & Co reported financial results for second quarter 2025 (Presentation, Merck & Co, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654714]).

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On July 29, 2025 AstraZeneca reported the first half and second quarter 2025 financial results (Press release, AstraZeneca, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654662]).

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On July 29, 2025 Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, reported the first clinical readout from their collaboration in the RADIOHEAD study with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), a network of the largest concentration of immuno-oncology (IO) expertise in the world (Press release, Guardant Health, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654621]). The data, published today in Cancer Research Communications, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper), found that Guardant Reveal successfully detected responses to immunotherapy across multiple solid tumor types in advanced stage cancer patients and identified non-responders more than three months—and in some cases nearly five months—before disease progression was visible by standard methods.

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Approximately 30% of patients with advanced-stage cancer receive immunotherapy treatment, with varying degree and duration of response. This study analyzed a large cohort of more than 500 patients with various advanced solid tumors, including lung, skin, head and neck, breast, GI, GU, and gynecologic cancers, receiving immunotherapy in a real-world setting to assess if blood-based monitoring could predict response accurately and faster than standard of care methods. The strong association found between long-term patient outcomes and changes in tumor fraction as measured with the tissue-free, methylation-based Guardant Reveal supports the use of blood-based monitoring to help predict treatment response and improve decision-making in cancer care.

"Precise serial monitoring at the molecular level provides real value to oncologists and to patients using immunotherapy," said Craig Eagle, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Guardant Health. "This study shows that Guardant Reveal has the potential to revolutionize how oncologists assess patient response, identifying earlier insights that can empower them to make informed decisions faster and improve patient outcome and quality of care."

"Our RADIOHEAD study of Guardant Reveal in advanced stage cancers provides patients with a new caliber of precision monitoring in order to create better patient outcomes," said Tarak Mody, PhD, Chief Business Officer at PICI. "These findings exemplify PICI’s commitment to forging mission-driven partnerships to bring cutting-edge technology into clinical practice, accelerate discoveries, and advance the development of curative immune therapies for patients."

Key study findings include:

Improved patient outcomes associated with any reduction in tumor fraction
75% lower risk of progression in patients with ≥80% decrease in tumor fraction
Disease progression identified up to 5 months prior to standard of care methods

On July 29, 2025 ViroCell Biologics ("ViroCell"), a specialist viral vector Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation ("CDMO") for cell and gene therapy (CGT) clinical trials, reported a manufacturing collaboration with and the successful delivery of a novel retroviral vector to AvenCell Therapeutics, Inc. ("AvenCell"), a leading clinical-stage cell therapy company focused on advancing allogeneic switchable CAR-T cell therapies (Press release, AvenCell Therapeutics, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654620]). This first retroviral vector will be used to manufacture AVC-203, an investigational CD19/CD20 dual-targeted cell therapy for the treatment of B cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

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AvenCell’s AV203 is its second investigational cell therapy using its differentiated allogeneic engineering to provide an "off-the-shelf" product engineered to overcome graft-versus-host disease as well as graft rejection by host T and Natural Killer ("NK") cells. AVC-203 is designed to achieve superior efficacy compared to currently-approved CAR-Ts while enabling immediate treatment and greater patient access at much lower cost and complexity. The further inclusion of AvenCell’s RevCAR receptor in AVC203 allows for additional antigen targeting (with "off/on" capability in vivo) beyond CD19 and CD20.

AvenCell selected ViroCell as its partner to manufacture the retroviral vector for this program based on the CDMO’s expertise and track record in delivering high yield vectors at speed. Incorporating a cell line acquired by AvenCell into the GMP manufacturing process, ViroCell successfully delivered a high yield vector while meeting AvenCell’s accelerated timeline. This program evidences ViroCell’s ability to deliver a bespoke, complex manufacturing process in the allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy space, ultimately, enabling AvenCell’s timelines for clinical entry. AvenCell’s AVC-203 is expected to enter a first-in-human phase I study in patients with relapsed/refractory B cell lymphoma in H2/2025.

John W. Hadden II, CEO of ViroCell, commented: "We are thrilled to partner with AvenCell and support their innovative allogeneic CAR-T therapy platform. I am proud of Team ViroCell’s accomplishments on the successful end-to-end delivery of this retroviral vector and accelerating a novel therapy into clinical development in an area of high unmet need. We look forward to continuing our work with AvenCell on their exciting platform."

Andrew Schiermeier, Ph.D., CEO, AvenCell, added: "We are delighted with ViroCell’s performance in process development and GMP manufacture of this complex retroviral vector. We selected ViroCell to support our platform because we knew that they could execute reliably in areas where other CDMOs can’t. The delivery of this retroviral vector for AVC-203 is proof that our trust in ViroCell was well placed."