On August 4, 2026 Marengo Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering precision immunotherapy approaches for cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported two important milestones reflecting the advancement of its TriSTAR platform: the nomination of the first development candidate under its TriSTAR strategic collaboration with Ipsen and the appointment of Saso Cemerski, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Head of Immunology.

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This drug candidate nomination marks the successful advancement of the first program developed through the strategic collaboration established by Marengo and Ipsen in June 2024. It is the second candidate from Marengo’s proprietary TriSTAR platform to enter IND-enabling development.

"Nominating a development candidate under our TriSTAR collaboration with Ipsen is a testament to the strength of our partnership and underscores the dedication and ingenuity of Marengo’s research team," said Zhen Su, M.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Marengo Therapeutics. "Our first-in-class precision TriSTAR trispecific T-cell engagers are designed to deliver on the promise of precision immuno-oncology by bringing the right T cells to the right tumors. We look forward to continuing our work with Ipsen to translate this innovation into meaningful clinical benefit for patients."

TriSTAR is a precision "armed" T-cell engager platform with a differentiated two-in-one mechanism of action, combining selective T-cell activation and expansion with tumor-directed engagement in a single molecule. By integrating Vβ-directed T-cell activation, built-in costimulation and tumor-antigen targeting, TriSTAR candidates are designed to generate and redirect a new pool of highly active memory T cells against tumors. This precision approach has the potential to improve the therapeutic index of T-cell engagement by enhancing antitumor potency in solid tumors while limiting the broad, indiscriminate T-cell activation associated with traditional CD3-directed T-cell engagers.

This milestone demonstrates continued progress across the collaboration’s multiple programs and further validates the ability of the TriSTAR platform to repeatedly generate differentiated therapeutic candidates suitable for global clinical development. Marengo has led research and preclinical development for this program in partnership with Ipsen and is eligible for milestone payments under the collaboration. Ipsen will assume responsibility for all activities following development candidate nomination.

Appointment of Saso Cemerski, Senior Vice President, Head of Immunology

Building on this momentum, Marengo is strengthening its scientific leadership with the appointment of Dr. Cemerski, an industry-leading expert in T-cell engager discovery and immune-cell activation Dr. Cemerski will lead immunology research across Marengo’s clinical and preclinical portfolio, help shape the company’s scientific strategy and accelerate expansion of its pipeline of precision Vβ-directed T-cell therapies.

"Saso is one of the industry’s foremost experts in T-cell engager discovery and immune-cell activation.," Dr. Su continued. "His experience building global research organizations and advancing multiple programs toward the clinic makes him uniquely suited to help us realize the full potential of TriSTAR. His appointment significantly strengthens our ability to expand what we believe is one of the industry’s most differentiated pipelines of precision Vβ-directed T-cell engagers."

"Marengo has built an exceptionally innovative immunology platform with the potential to redefine how T-cell engagers activate and redirect the immune system," said Saso Cemerski, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Head of Immunology at Marengo Therapeutics. "The unique biology of selective Vβ T-cell activation creates an opportunity to overcome many of the limitations of existing T-cell engager approaches. I am excited to join this outstanding team and help translate the TriSTAR platform into a broad pipeline of next-generation therapies for patients."

Dr. Cemerski brings more than 15 years of experience leading immunology research and therapeutic discovery across biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, he served as Head of Discovery Immune Cell Engagement at AstraZeneca, where he led a global organization of more than 75 scientists, advanced multiple discovery programs toward clinical development, and helped evaluate and integrate externally sourced T-cell engager technologies. His prior experience includes a senior leadership role at Cue Biopharma, as well as positions at Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb and Xencor, where he contributed to the advancement of multiple antibody and small molecule therapeutics from discovery through clinical development.

(Press release, Marengo Therapeutics, AUG 4, 2026, View Source [SID1234669675])