On March 9, 2026 enGene Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ENGN, "enGene" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage, non-viral genetic medicines company, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended January 31, 2026, and provided a business update.

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"As data from LEGEND’s pivotal cohort in high-risk, BCG-unresponsive NMIBC continues to mature, we look forward to providing an update at a spring medical conference," said Ron Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer, enGene. "On the heels of our successful November follow-on offering, we entered 2026 in a position of financial strength and ready to execute. With RMAT and CDRP designations for detalimogene, we are in active dialogue with the FDA to ensure regulatory and manufacturing readiness as we plan for a BLA submission in the second half of this year and potential launch in 2027."

Recent Corporate Updates

Expanded debt facility: In January 2026, the Company expanded its existing loan and security agreement with Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) ("Hercules"), for up to $125 million. Access to the additional non-dilutive capital strengthens enGene’s balance sheet in preparation for its planned Biologics License Application ("BLA") to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for detalimogene voraplasmid as a treatment for high-risk, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin ("BCG")-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer ("NMIBC") with carcinoma in situ ("CIS") in the second half of 2026, and the potential commercial launch of detalimogene should it receive FDA approval.

Successful completion of public offering: In November 2025, the Company successfully closed an underwritten public offering of its common shares and pre-funded warrants at an offering price of $8.50 per share and $8.4999 per pre-funded warrant. The offering totaled $140.1 million in net proceeds, following the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

LEGEND pivotal cohort update: In November 2025, enGene reported preliminary data from LEGEND’s pivotal cohort for patients enrolled following a protocol amendment implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024. The preliminary analysis of the post-amendment patients with at least one post-baseline disease assessment included 62 patients at 3 months and 37 patients at 6 months and demonstrated:

63% complete response (CR) rate at any time (n=62);
56% CR rate at 3 months (n=62);
62% CR rate at 6 months (n=37), including 4 patients who successfully converted to CR post reinduction; and
All 5 patients who completed the 9-month assessment had a CR.
The Company completed enrollment of 125 patients in total. Data from these patients demonstrated a generally favorable tolerability profile:

42% of patients experienced a treatment-related adverse event (TRAE);
1.6% of patients experienced dose interruptions due to TRAEs; and
0.8% of patients experienced dose discontinuations due to TRAEs.
enGene continues to believe that detalimogene’s emerging profile supports its potential first-line use in patients with high-risk, BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer with CIS.

CMC Development and Readiness Pilot (CDRP) Program: In November 2025, the Company was selected as one of nine companies to participate in the FDA’s Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Development and Readiness Pilot (CDRP) program. The FDA created the CDRP Program to facilitate CMC development for therapies with compressed clinical development timeframes based on the anticipated clinical benefits of earlier patient access to the therapy. Acceptance into the program further supports enGene’s confidence in detalimogene’s potential and aligns with enGene’s commitment to strong manufacturing practices as clinical development advances.

Anticipated Milestones

Update from LEGEND pivotal cohort planned for a spring 2026 medical conference.
12-month complete response data from LEGEND pivotal cohort expected in 2H 2026.
Planned BLA filing for LEGEND’s pivotal cohort in the second half of 2026.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

As of January 31, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $312.5 million. The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will fund operating expenses, debt obligations and capital expenditures into the second half of 2028.

Total operating expenses were $31.2 million for the three months ended January 31, 2026, compared to $26.6 million for 2025. Research and development expenses increased by $2.3 million, primarily driven by increased personnel and clinical costs related to our LEGEND trial and in preparation for our planned Biologics License Application submission in the second half of 2026. General and administrative expenses increased by $2.3 million, primarily driven by personnel and facilities costs as the Company scales its general and administrative function to support the operation of a public company.

For the three months ended January 31, 2026, net loss attributable to common shareholders was approximately $29.8 million, or $0.44 per share, compared to approximately $24.6 million, or $0.48 per share, for the three months ended January 31, 2025. The increase in net loss is mainly attributed to the increase in operating expenses, partially offset by net interest income earned during the period.

About Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC)

Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a disease that poses a significant burden on both patients and clinics and has a massive economic impact on our healthcare system. NMIBC occurs when cancer cells grow in the tissues that line the interior of the bladder, but the cancer has not yet penetrated the muscle of the bladder wall. NMIBC can present as papillary outgrowths from the bladder wall, which are typically resected, or as carcinoma in situ (CIS), which consists of flat, multifocal lesions that cannot be resected. The two forms can also co-occur. About 75-80% of new bladder cancer diagnoses are NMIBC. Patients suffering from high-risk NMIBC who are unresponsive to the standard of care, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), face high rates of disease recurrence (50-70%) and are potentially subject to full removal of the bladder (cystectomy) as a curative but life-altering next step.

About Detalimogene Voraplasmid

Detalimogene is a novel, investigational, non-viral gene therapy for patients with high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), including Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive disease. It is designed to be instilled in the bladder and elicit a powerful yet localized anti-tumor immune response.

Detalimogene was developed using the Company’s Dually Derivatized Oligochitosan (DDX) platform, a technology designed to transform how gene therapies are accessed by patients and utilized by clinicians. Medicines developed with the DDX platform can potentially overcome the limitations of viral-based gene therapies, reduce complexities related to safe handling and cold storage, and streamline both manufacturing processes and administration paradigms.

Detalimogene has received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) and Fast Track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on its potential to address the high unmet medical need for patients with BCG-unresponsive carcinoma in situ (CIS) NMIBC with or without resected papillary tumors who are unable to undergo cystectomy. The RMAT program is intended to expedite the development and review of regenerative medicine therapies for serious or life-threatening conditions, where preliminary clinical evidence suggests potential to address unmet medical needs. Similarly, Fast Track designation is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. Detalimogene has also been selected to participate in the FDA’s Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Development and Readiness Pilot (CDRP) program. The FDA created the CDRP Program to facilitate CMC development for therapies with compressed clinical development timeframes based on the anticipated clinical benefits of earlier patient access to the therapy.

About the LEGEND Trial

Detalimogene is being evaluated in the ongoing, open-label, multi-cohort, Phase 2 LEGEND trial to establish its safety and efficacy in high-risk NMIBC. LEGEND’s pivotal cohort (Cohort 1) consists of 125 patients with high-risk, BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with CIS (with or without papillary disease) and is designed to serve as the basis of the Company’s planned Biologics License Application (BLA) filing. In addition to this pivotal cohort, LEGEND includes three additional cohorts, including NMIBC patients with CIS who are naïve to treatment with BCG (Cohort 2a); NMIBC patients with CIS who have been exposed to BCG but have not received adequate BCG treatment (Cohort 2b); and BCG-unresponsive high-risk NMIBC patients with papillary-only disease (Cohort 3). The LEGEND trial is actively enrolling patients with sites participating in the USA, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

(Press release, enGene, MAR 9, 2026, View Source [SID1234663384])

On March 9, 2026 Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) reported that its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for ENHERTU (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki) has been accepted and granted Priority Review in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with HER2 positive (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 3+ or in-situ hybridization (ISH)+) breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant HER2 targeted treatment.

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ENHERTU is a specifically engineered HER2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants Priority Review to applications for medicines that, if approved, would offer significant benefit over available treatment options by demonstrating safety or efficacy improvements, preventing serious conditions or enhancing patient compliance. The Priority Review follows receipt of Breakthrough Therapy Designation granted by the FDA in December 2025 for ENHERTU based on data from the DESTINY-Breast05 phase 3 trial presented at the 2025 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) (#ESMO25) Congress and subsequently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date, the FDA target action date for their regulatory decision, is July 7, 2026.

Results from DESTINY-Breast05 showed ENHERTU significantly reduced the risk of invasive disease recurrence or death (invasive disease-free survival [IDFS]) by 53% (hazard ratio [HR]=0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.34-0.66; p<0.0001) compared to trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) as a post-neoadjuvant treatment for patients with HER2 positive breast cancer with residual invasive disease following neoadjuvant therapy. Trial results demonstrated a three-year IDFS rate of 92.4% (95% CI: 89.7-94.4) in the ENHERTU arm compared to 83.7% with T-DM1 (95% CI: 80.2-86.7). IDFS findings were consistent across all prespecified subgroups.

Data also showed that ENHERTU significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 53% (HR=0.47; 95% CI: 0.34-0.66; p<0.0001) compared to T-DM1. Treatment with ENHERTU in DESTINY-Breast05 also reduced the risk of distant disease recurrence (distant recurrence-free interval [DRFI]) by 51% (HR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.34-0.71) and the risk of brain metastases (brain metastasis-free interval [BMFI]) by 36% (HR=0.64; 95% CI: 0.35-1.17) versus T-DM1.

The sBLA is being reviewed under Project Orbis, which provides a framework for the concurrent submission and review of oncology medicines among participating international partners. This initiative is designed to bring effective cancer treatments to patients as early as possible.

"For patients with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy, identifying additional treatments following surgery is critical to help further reduce the risk of recurrence and help prevent progression to metastatic disease," said Ken Takeshita, MD, Global Head, R&D, Daiichi Sankyo. "This Priority Review reinforces the potential of ENHERTU to become a new standard of care for HER2 positive early breast cancer based on the results of DESTINY-Breast05."

"While there has been significant progress in treating HER2 positive early breast cancer, managing patients at a higher risk of recurrence remains challenging," said Susan Galbraith, MBBChir, PhD, Executive Vice President, Oncology Hematology R&D, AstraZeneca. "With this Priority Review, we move closer to bringing ENHERTU to the post-neoadjuvant setting, offering more patients the opportunity for sustained long-term outcomes and a potential path to cure."

The safety profile of ENHERTU observed in DESTINY-Breast05 was consistent with its known profile with no new safety concerns identified. Grade 3 or higher treatment emergent adverse event (TEAE) rates were comparable between ENHERTU (50.6%) and T-DM1 (51.9%). The most common grade 3 or higher TEAEs occurring in 5% or more of patients treated with ENHERTU were decreased neutrophil count (15.5%), decreased white blood cell count (10.1%), decreased platelet count (6.7%) and neutropenia (8.1%). Rates of interstitial lung disease (ILD) or pneumonitis were low in both arms with ILD events occurring in 9.6% of the ENHERTU arm and 1.6% of the T-DM1 arm. The majority of ILD or pneumonitis events were low grade (grade 1 [ENHERTU=16; 2.0%; T-DM1=8; 1.0%] or grade 2 [ENHERTU=52; 6.5%; T-DM1=5; 0.6%]). There were no grade 3 or higher ILD or pneumonitis events for T-DM1. In the ENHERTU arm, there were seven grade 3 events (0.9%) and two grade 5 events (0.2%) as determined by an independent adjudication committee.

Regulatory submissions for ENHERTU based on DESTINY-Breast05 are under review in the EU and Japan. In addition, an sBLA for ENHERTU followed by paclitaxel, trastuzumab and pertuzumab (THP) currently is under review in the U.S. for the neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with HER2 positive (IHC 3+ or ISH+) stage 2 or stage 3 breast cancer based on results from the DESTINY-Breast11 trial with a PDUFA date of May 18, 2026.

About DESTINY-Breast05

DESTINY-Breast05 is a global, multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) versus T-DM1 in patients with HER2 positive early breast cancer with residual invasive disease in breast or axillary lymph nodes following neoadjuvant therapy and a high risk of recurrence. High risk of recurrence was defined as presentation with inoperable cancer (prior to neoadjuvant therapy) or pathologically positive axillary lymph nodes following neoadjuvant therapy.

The primary endpoint of DESTINY-Breast05 is investigator-assessed IDFS, which is defined as the time from randomization until first invasive local, axillary or distant recurrence or death from any cause. The key secondary endpoint is investigator-assessed DFS. Other secondary endpoints include overall survival, DRFI, BMFI, interval and safety.

DESTINY-Breast05 enrolled 1,635 patients in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. For more information about the trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

About Post-Neoadjuvant Treatment for HER2 Positive Early Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide.1 More than two million breast cancer cases were diagnosed in 2022, with more than 665,000 deaths globally.1 In the U.S., more than 320,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually with more than 42,000 deaths.2

HER2 is a tyrosine kinase receptor growth-promoting protein expressed on the surface of many types of tumors including breast cancer.3 HER2 protein overexpression may occur as a result of HER2 gene amplification and is often associated with aggressive disease and poor prognosis in breast cancer.3 Approximately one in five cases of breast cancer is considered HER2 positive.4

For patients with HER2 positive early breast cancer, achieving pathologic complete response (pCR) with neoadjuvant treatment is the earliest indicator of improved long-term survival.5 However, approximately half of patients who receive neoadjuvant treatment do not experience pCR, putting them at increased risk of disease recurrence.6,7,8,9,10

Despite receiving additional treatment for residual disease in the post-neoadjuvant setting, some patients still experience invasive disease or death and current treatment options have shown limited impact on central nervous system recurrence.11 Once patients are diagnosed with metastatic disease, the five-year survival rate drops from nearly 90% to approximately 30%.12

Post-neoadjuvant therapy represents a key opportunity to minimize the risk of recurrence and prevent progression to metastatic disease for patients with residual disease. New treatment options are needed in the early breast cancer setting to help reduce the likelihood of disease progression and improve long-term outcomes for more patients.13,14

About ENHERTU

ENHERTU (trastuzumab deruxtecan; fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki in the U.S. only) is a HER2 directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary DXd ADC Technology, ENHERTU is the lead ADC in the oncology portfolio of Daiichi Sankyo and the most advanced program in AstraZeneca’s ADC scientific platform. ENHERTU consists of a HER2 monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) in combination with pertuzumab is approved in the U.S. as a first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2 positive (IHC 3+ or ISH+) breast cancer, as determined by an FDA-approved test, based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast09 trial.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 90 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2 positive (IHC 3+ or ISH+) breast cancer who have received a prior anti-HER2-based regimen, either in the metastatic setting or in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting, and have developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing therapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast03 trial.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 90 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2 low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received a prior systemic therapy in the metastatic setting or developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant chemotherapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast04 trial.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 60 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2 low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ ISH-) or HER2 ultralow (IHC 0 with membrane staining) breast cancer, as determined by a locally or regionally approved test, that have progressed on one or more endocrine therapies in the metastatic setting based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast06 trial.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 70 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic NSCLC whose tumors have activating HER2 (ERBB2) mutations, as detected by a locally or regionally approved test, and who have received a prior systemic therapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Lung02 and/or DESTINY-Lung05 trials. Continued approval in China and the U.S. for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial.

ENHERTU (6.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 80 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2 positive (IHC 3+ or IHC 2+/ISH+) gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma who have received a prior trastuzumab-based regimen based on the results from the DESTINY-Gastric01, DESTINY-Gastric02 and/or DESTINY-Gastric04 trials.

ENHERTU (5.4 mg/kg) is approved in more than 10 countries/regions worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2 positive (IHC 3+) solid tumors who have received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options based on efficacy results from the DESTINY-PanTumor02, DESTINY-Lung01 and DESTINY-CRC02 trials. Continued approval in the U.S. for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial.

About the ENHERTU Clinical Development Program

A comprehensive global clinical development program is underway evaluating the efficacy and safety of ENHERTU as a monotherapy or in combination or sequentially with other cancer medicines across multiple HER2 targetable cancers.

(Press release, Daiichi Sankyo, MAR 9, 2026, View Source [SID1234663383])

On March 9, 2026 Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ: CAI), a leading patient-centric, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer, reported the launch of a novel, proprietary Caris AI Insights signature for pancreatic cancer included in the Caris Molecular Tumor Board Report. The Caris Molecular Tumor Board Report is an innovative tumor profiling report that provides an additional tumor biology resource and is available upon request with no additional tissue sampling required when ordering MI Cancer Seek.

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Caris Life Sciences continues to advance precision oncology by integrating multimodal real-world datasets, available with its proprietary CodeAI platform, enabling the creation of Caris AI Insights, an engine that utilizes Whole Exome Sequencing (WES), Whole Transcriptome Sequencing (WTS), and clinical data to generate deeper biological understanding and more actionable insights for clinicians and researchers.

By harnessing AI across its comprehensive real-world datasets, comprised of over 550,000 patients, Caris researchers are building next-generation multimodal models that accelerate biomarker discovery, enhance therapeutic decision-making, and support the development of more personalized cancer treatments.

This signature, designed to support first-line treatment selection for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), leverages Caris’ WES and WTS to provide biologically informed insights that may help clinicians personalize therapy decisions in one of the deadliest and most treatment-challenging cancers.

FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (gem/nab-p) are the most commonly used first-line regimens for advanced PDAC, yet limited actionable biomarker guidance exists for therapy selection. As a result, treatment selection often relies on clinical factors rather than tumor biology, exposing patients to potentially unnecessary toxicity with limited benefit.

"Caris AI Insights for PDAC represents a meaningful step forward in bringing molecular intelligence to a disease where clinicians have historically had to make difficult treatment decisions with limited biological guidance," said David Spetzler, MS, PhD, MBA, President of Caris Life Sciences. "By harnessing the power of WES and WTS, this Caris AI Insights signature identifies complex molecular patterns that may predict differential benefit between standard first-line regimens. This is exactly the type of advancement to improve patient care that our comprehensive platform was built to deliver."

The PDAC signature provides clinicians with risk categorization (standard or high risk) and treatment recommendations between FOLFIRINOX and gem/nab-p, based on molecular patterns associated with differential benefit. The report includes a Kaplan-Meier plot for patients treated with either regimen, matching the predictions to the clinicians’ patients to advise likely responses.

Caris received FDA approval in November 2024 for MI Cancer Seek, a tissue-based assay that is the first and only simultaneous Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing (WTS)-based assay with FDA-approved companion diagnostic (CDx) indications for molecular profiling of solid tumors.

A future publication is expected this year, highlighting how Caris AI Insights for pancreatic cancer identified a significant subset of patients who may be candidates for treatment de-escalation, as well as those more likely to benefit from a more intensive regimen and those who likely need the more intensive therapy.

(Press release, Caris Life Sciences, MAR 9, 2026, View Source [SID1234663382])

On March 9, 2026 Anixa Biosciences, Inc. ("Anixa" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ANIX), a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer, reported that the Korean Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) has issued a Notice of Allowance for a new patent related to Anixa’s breast cancer vaccine technology. This patent, exclusively licensed from Cleveland Clinic, will provide composition of matter protection for the Company’s novel approach to breast cancer treatment and prevention in South Korea. The patent is titled, "Vaccine Adjuvants and Formulations," and the co-inventors are Dr. Justin Johnson and the late Dr. Vincent Tuohy, both of Cleveland Clinic.

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With this allowance, Anixa continues to expand the international scope of its intellectual property portfolio, reinforcing its leadership in the field of cancer immunotherapy. The Korean patent complements patents issued in the United States and other key global jurisdictions, and represents an important step toward potential future regulatory approvals and commercialization efforts outside the United States.

"This newly allowed patent continues the broad international recognition of the novelty and potential of our breast cancer vaccine," stated Dr. Amit Kumar, Chairman and CEO of Anixa Biosciences. "As we continue clinical development in the U.S., our growing international patent estate further strengthens our ability to pursue global opportunities and potentially partner with larger pharmaceutical companies for worldwide commercialization. In our recently completed Phase 1 clinical trial conducted at Cleveland Clinic, the vaccine met all major primary endpoints, was safe and well tolerated, and generated immune responses in 74% of participants, supporting continued clinical development of this novel preventive approach."

While the breast cancer survival rate is high in South Korea, the incidence rate has been increasing rapidly. In addition, unlike Western nations, the onset of breast cancer tends to occur earlier in life in South Korea. Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, and currently there are no approved vaccines to prevent the disease.

Anixa’s vaccine is based on immunizing against human α-lactalbumin, a protein associated with lactation that is aberrantly expressed in certain types of breast cancer. This "retired" protein strategy, developed at Cleveland Clinic and licensed exclusively to Anixa, aims to selectively prime the immune system to prevent tumor formation while avoiding harm to normal tissue, particularly in aggressive forms of the disease such as triple-negative breast cancer.

By reinforcing its global patent estate, Anixa is laying the groundwork for future international development and commercialization strategies. The Company’s broader vaccine platform also targets other high-incidence cancers and is designed to transform how the medical community approaches cancer prevention. If successful, the technology could represent one of the first preventive vaccine approaches targeting breast cancer.

(Press release, Anixa Biosciences, MAR 9, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anixa-biosciences-receives-notice-of-allowance-from-korean-ministry-of-intellectual-property-moip-for-patent-covering-breast-cancer-vaccine-technology-302707370.html [SID1234663381])

On March 9, 2026 Nanjing Leads Biolabs Co., Ltd. ("Leads Biolabs" or the "Company," Stock Code: 9887.HK) reported that the first patient has been successfully dosed in a Phase Ⅱ clinical study evaluating Opamtistomig (LBL-024), the company’s core investigational PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibody, for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

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ESCC ranks as the seventh most common cancer in China, characterized by insidious onset and poor prognosis. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with chemotherapy have improved objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) compared to chemotherapy alone, median OS remains only 12-17 months. This underscores the limitations of current treatment approaches and the urgent need for improved outcomes, highlighting the necessity to explore more effective innovative strategies to address this significant clinical challenge.

Opamtistomig is a uniquely engineered bispecific antibody designed to simultaneously block PD-1/L1-mediated immune suppression and selectively activate the 4-1BB co-stimulatory pathway. By restoring T-cell functionality and expanding effector T-cell populations within the tumor microenvironment, Opamtistomig has the potential to deliver more potent and durable anti-tumor activity than PD-1/PD-L1 blockade alone, particularly in difficult-to-treat and immunotherapy-resistant tumors. To date, Opamtistomig has demonstrated first- or best-in-class potential in Phase II or registrational clinical trials across three indications: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC).

The open-label, multi-center Phase Ⅱ clinical study is led by Professor Shen Lin of Beijing Cancer Hospital and is being conducted across multiple hospitals in China. The trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Opamtistomig administered in patients with ESCC.

Executive Commentary
Dr. Charles Cai, Chief Medical Officer of Leads Biolabs, stated: "ESCC is highly prevalent with poor prognosis in China. While immune-chemotherapy combinations have shown progress, the overall survival benefit remains very limited, necessitating breakthrough solutions. The dosing of the first ESCC patient with Opamtistomig marks a critical milestone in our clinical strategy for this core pipeline asset. We anticipate it will overcome current immunotherapy limitations, delivering both higher response rates and prolonged survival benefits for patients."

About ESCC
China is a region with a high incidence of esophageal cancer, accounting for approximately 50% of the newly diagnosed and fatal cases of esophageal cancer worldwide. Esophageal cancer is broadly classified into ESCC and esophageal adenocarcinoma, of which squamous cell carcinoma represents the predominant subtype in China. According to 2022 data published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, ESCC ranked seventh among all cancers in China in terms of incidence, with an estimated 224,000 new cases and approximately 187,000 deaths recorded annually. Early-stage esophageal cancer typically presents with no obvious clinical symptoms, and the majority of patients are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage or with distant metastases. As a result, prognosis remains poor, with a five-year survival rate of only 10.0% to 30.0%.

About Opamtistomig (LBL-024)
Opamtistomig (LBL-024) is a potential first-in-class bispecific antibody that simultaneously targets PD-L1 and the co-stimulatory receptor 4-1BB. It is the first 4-1BB–targeting bispecific antibody globally to advance to a single-arm pivotal trial as monotherapy, and it holds promise to become the first approved therapy specifically for extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC)—a rare malignancy with substantial unmet clinical need.

Developed using Leads Biolabs’ proprietary X-Body bispecific platform, Opamtistomig features a 2:2 molecular format, incorporating two binding domains each for PD-L1 and 4-1BB with an optimized affinity ratio. This unique design enables dual functionality: reversing PD-L1–mediated immune suppression while selectively enhancing T-cell activation, resulting in a potent and synergistic anti-tumor immune response.

In two ongoing clinical studies in China, Opamtistomig has demonstrated promising efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with advanced EP-NEC, both as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy. Given the absence of a globally accepted standard of care for EP-NEC, these results support the advancement of a single-arm pivotal study toward potential accelerated approval.

Recognizing its clinical potential, Opamtistomig received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in October 2024, and Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of neuroendocrine carcinoma in November 2024. Additionally, in January 2026, Opamtistomig was granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the FDA and ODD by the European Commission for the treatment of EP-NEC, further underscoring its potential to address unmet medical needs in this patient population.

Mechanistically, 4-1BB agonism can reactivate exhausted T cells and promote robust T-cell proliferation, offering significant promise for PD-1/PD-L1–resistant or immunologically "cold" tumors. Beyond EP-NEC, Opamtistomig has received clinical trial approvals across multiple tumor types with high unmet medical needs, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), biliary tract cancer (BTC), ovarian cancer (OC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gastric cancer (GC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and malignant melanoma. Encouraging clinical activity has already been observed in NSCLC, SCLC, BTC, OC, and other indications, underscoring Opamtistomig’s potential as a broad-spectrum immuno-oncology therapy.

(Press release, Nanjing Leads Biolabs, MAR 9, 2026, View Source [SID1234663380])