Preclinical Data Supporting Therapeutic Potential of Surface Oncology’s Lead Clinical Programs, SRF617 and SRF388, Presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2021 Annual Meeting

On November 9, 2021 Surface Oncology (Nasdaq: SURF), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies that target the tumor microenvironment, reported that two scientific posters sharing updated preclinical data from Surface Oncology’s two lead clinical-stage antibody therapies, SRF617 (targeting CD39) and SRF388 (targeting IL-27), will be presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2021 Annual Meeting, to be held virtually and at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. November 10-14, 2021 (Press release, Surface Oncology, NOV 9, 2021, View Source [SID1234594832]).

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"The data to be presented highlight SRF617’s potent CD39 inhibition in preclinical models, and its effect on promoting proinflammatory therapeutic activity," said Vito Palombella, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Surface Oncology. "Additionally, we will provide evidence that the IL-27 gene signature is highly expressed in patients with lung cancer that have treatment-resistant disease, supporting our continued development of SRF388, our first-in-class IL-27 antibody, across numerous tumor types."

Highlights of the posters are provided below. Full posters will be placed on Surface Oncology’s website following the presentations.

SRF617 Highlights
In a poster entitled "The fully human antibody SRF617 is a potent inhibitor of ecto-enzyme CD39 in vivo," Surface researchers describe preclinical studies demonstrating the therapeutic potential of targeting CD39 for cancer treatment:

SRF617 is an inhibitor of CD39 enzymatic activity in vivo.
Anti-CD39 therapy promotes a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment by increasing CD8+ T cell accumulation and downregulating CD39 protein on immune cells.
In combination with gemcitabine, anti-CD39 therapy promotes an increase in tumor macrophages while reducing CD39 expression and activity.
SRF388 Highlights
In a poster entitled "IL-27 signaling drives a type 1 interferon-like gene expression program of immunoregulatory pathways associated with cancer progression," Surface researchers demonstrate that blockade of IL-27 alleviates an immunosuppressive gene transcriptional program implicated in treatment resistance in cancer:

IL-27 induces robust gene expression in human immune cells and cancer cell lines that include several inhibitory receptors and canonical interferon-regulated genes.
Both IL-27 and IFNβ can counteract some of the immune stimulatory properties of PD-1 blockade.
IL-27 is expressed by a macrophage population associated with progressive disease in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
These studies elucidate the transcriptional networks engaged after IL-27 signaling in immune and cancer cells and highlight the parallels with interferon-associated immune regulation.