On July 17, 2026 Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered antibodies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported that results from a Phase 1 study of XmAb819, an ENPP3 x CD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibody, in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) were accepted for a proffered paper oral presentation at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress 2026, to be held October 23-27 in Madrid, Spain.

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Details of the Proffered Paper Oral Presentation

Title: Phase 1 results of XmAb819, a novel ENPP3 x CD3 bispecific, in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)
Presenter: Sumanta Pal, M.D., FASCO, Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
ESMO has indicated that the abstract will be available on its website at 3:05 p.m. PDT on Sunday, October 18.

XmAb819 Evaluation Across ENPP3+ Tumors

XmAb819 is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with ENPP3+ tumors in a Phase 1 clinical study (Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT05433142). Initial results from dose-escalation in advanced ccRCC were presented during the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC Conference in October 2025. Currently:

Expansion cohorts are evaluating intravenous doses to support selection of a dose for the planned Phase 3 pivotal study for patients with advanced ccRCC,
Dose escalation of subcutaneous administration in advanced ccRCC is ongoing,
A sub-study for patients with ENPP3+ advanced colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and papillary renal cell carcinoma opened to enrollment in the second quarter of 2026, and
A sub-study for patients with intermediate- or poor-risk advanced ccRCC who have progressed after nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab as a first-line treatment (IO doublet therapy) is planned to open to enrollment in the third quarter of 2026.
About XmAb819

XmAb819 is a first-in-class, tumor-targeted, T-cell engaging XmAb 2+1 bispecific antibody in development for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and other tumors with high ENPP3 expression, including colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and papillary renal cell carcinoma. XmAb819 engages the immune system and activates T cells for highly potent and targeted lysis of tumor cells expressing ENPP3. ENPP3 is a differentially expressed target, with high-level expression in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and low-level expression on normal tissues. With two tumor-antigen binding domains and one T-cell binding domain, Xencor’s XmAb 2+1 format enables antibodies to bind more avidly and selectively kill tumor cells with higher antigen density, potentially sparing normal cells.

(Press release, Xencor, JUL 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234669292])

On July 16, 2026 Valerio Therapeutics (FR0010095596 – ALVIO), a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation precision-guided RNA therapeutics ("Valerio" or the "Company"), reported that it has entered into a binding term-sheet with Abivax SA ("Abivax"), setting out the principal terms of an exclusive worldwide research and development collaboration. The final terms remain subject to the signing of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement.

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In connection with this collaboration, Valerio and Abivax will work together to identify, design and evaluate next-generation therapeutic candidates for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, leveraging Abivax’s expertise in this area together with Valerio’s targeted technology platforms. The collaboration will include the generation, manufacturing and preclinical evaluation of research candidates. The candidates will be evaluated for their therapeutic potential and may be further developed by Abivax.

Under the terms of the binding term-sheet, Valerio will receive an upfront payment up to approximately €2.4 million and would be eligible to receive development and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales and sublicensing revenues, subject to the execution of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement and the achievement of specified milestones and other terms.

"This collaboration brings together two highly complementary scientific capabilities: Abivax’s expertise in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and Valerio’s advanced technology platforms. We believe this collaboration creates an exciting opportunity to explore innovative therapeutic approaches that leverage complementary expertise. We look forward to working closely with the Abivax team to advance this research and evaluate its potential to address important unmet medical needs for patients," said Gilles Besin, Ph.D., the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Valerio Therapeutics and to explore the potential of our complementary scientific capabilities. We look forward to working together as the program progresses," said Marc de Garidel, CEO of Abivax.

For Valerio, the execution of this binding term-sheet represents an important milestone in the evolution of the Company as a precision RNA therapeutics developer with a growing pipeline. The partnership with Abivax will provide non-dilutive funding to support pipeline advancement, will supplement the existing potential for future milestone and royalty revenues and will reinforce the attractiveness of Valerio’s technology platform to biotech and pharmaceutical partners.

This transaction is aligned with Valerio’s strategy of advancing a focused portfolio of wholly owned therapeutic programs while complementing these efforts through partnerships and licensing transactions that leverage its platform capabilities and create additional value creation opportunities.

Valerio will provide further updates in due course, including upon signature of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement, in accordance with its obligations under the binding term-sheet and applicable regulatory obligations.

Pipeline Highlights

Valerio is advancing a pipeline of precision RNA therapeutics focused on diseases where targeted delivery to specific immune cells enables differentiated treatment approaches. The Company’s lead programs have been selected based on a combination of strong disease biology, clear unmet medical need and the ability to leverage Valerio’s proprietary V-Body platform to direct RNA-based payloads to disease-relevant tissue.

The proprietary pipeline currently includes the lead program VTX-001 in ankylosing spondylitis, VTX-002 in IgG4-related disease and VTX-003 in oncology. VTX-001 and VTX-002 are next-generation in vivo CAR-T approaches in the immunity & inflammation field and are designed to selectively deplete pathogenic immune-cell populations, while VTX-003 uses a V-Body–oligonucleotide conjugate approach to deliver siRNA to reactivate exhausted T cells in oncology.

Valerio’s platform is designed to accelerate discovery and development by enabling rapid generation of tailored V-Bodies, which can be combined with RNA payloads and next-generation lipid nanoparticle technologies across multiple therapeutic modalities. The Company’s strategy and pipeline reflect a milestone-driven approach to value inflection, with the ambition to nominate up to two development candidates within 12 to 18 months and to progress at least one program into first-in-human clinical studies within 18 to 24 months.

(Press release, Valerio Therapeutics, JUL 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234669274])

On July 16, 2026 Excalipoint Therapeutics and DP Technology reported a strategic collaboration to co-develop a proprietary AI agentic platform tailored for T-cell engager (TCE) and multi-specific antibody discovery. The alliance integrates Excalipoint’s deep expertise in TCE engineering with DP Technology’s leading AI Agent technology to address industry bottlenecks in TCE development and streamline delivery of differentiated assets.

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A fundamental challenge in TCE development is how to balance efficacy and toxicity, which demands fine-tuning of highly interdependent parameters: engager-antigen binding affinities, multi-specific valency and molecular spatial geometry. Traditionally, navigating this complex parameter space relies on trial-and-error wet lab screening, resulting in lengthy timelines and high costs.

The new platform leverages Excalipoint’s proprietary TCE molecular libraries and in vitro and in vivo functional datasets as its core foundation, and is fully integrated with DP Technology’s SciMaster and BioMaster life science agent suites to deliver multiple capabilities:

Full-stack AI orchestration: Predictive models for affinity, specificity and developability, together with structural simulation tools, standardized and centrally orchestrated by the core AI agent. All predictions operate on Excalipoint’s proprietary molecular space.
Dynamic parameter balancing: The AI agent dynamically adjusts validation workflows and scoring strategies, breaking rigid pipeline logic to identify optimal parameter combinations and improve the clinical translation efficiency of candidates.
Efficient human-AI co-pilot: The AI agent autonomously conducts molecular prediction, ranking, format enumeration and traceable reporting. Human experts intervene only at critical stages to deliver refined affinity interpretation and definitive evaluation of CRS risks and therapeutic windows.
Wet–dry lab closed-loop Design–Build–Test–Learn (DBTL) cycle: Real-world experimental data is continuously fed back to recalibrate AI models. The platform evolves iteratively alongside project progress, enabling fully autonomous AI molecular design in future R&D.
"Multi-specific antibodies exemplified by TCEs represent the next wave of immunotherapy, yet complex molecular architectures lead to high costs and stagnant translation efficiency. Our full-spectrum TCE molecule portfolio and extensive first-hand experimental datasets serve as the core strengths of our AI-powered discovery platform," said Dr. Lei Fang, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Excalipoint Therapeutics. "This collaboration with DP Technology goes far beyond third-party computational tools. We are building a proprietary AI R&D framework based on internal biological assets to enhance preclinical translational certainty, shorten development timelines and reduce resource wastage. Going forward, we will embed AI throughout full R&D workflow to evolve into a fully digital, intelligent biotech company and accelerate the delivery of globally competitive novel therapeutics."

"DP Technology’s mission is to empower original biomedical innovation through AI for Science. We are delighted to establish deep synergy with Excalipoint. We will deploy our life science agent stack, together with Excalipoint’s rich TCE experimental data and know-how, to build a fully customized AI solution for multi-specific antibody development," said Weijie Sun, Founder and CEO, DP Technology. "We firmly believe deep integration between artificial intelligence and expert scientific judgment will continuously expand the boundaries of biologic drug discovery."

This collaboration marks a key milestone in Excalipoint’s AI transformation. Currently, the agent platform will prioritize accelerating development across Excalipoint’s TCE pipeline. Long-term, it will expand AI deployment across the full workflow, including target identification, pharmacology and toxicology profiling, and clinical trial design, to consistently generate differentiated novel assets for patients with cancer and autoimmune disorders worldwide.

(Press release, Excalipoint Therapeutics, JUL 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234669275])

On July 16, 2026 Crescent Biopharma, Inc. ("Crescent" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CBIO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to rapidly advancing the next wave of therapies for cancer patients, reported that it has closed its previously announced underwritten public offering of 9,387,896 ordinary shares, including 1,293,103 ordinary shares sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, and in lieu of ordinary shares to certain investors, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 525,897 ordinary shares. The ordinary shares were sold to the public at a price of $14.50 per share and the pre-funded warrants were sold at a price to the public of $14.499 per pre-funded warrant, which represents the per ordinary share price less the $0.001 per share exercise price for each such pre-funded warrant. The gross proceeds to Crescent from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Crescent, were approximately $143.7 million. All of the ordinary shares and the pre-funded warrants sold in the public offering were sold by Crescent.

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Jefferies, TD Cowen, Guggenheim Securities and Cantor acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. LifeSci Capital acted as passive book-running manager for the offering.

The securities described above were offered by Crescent pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and was declared effective on July 10, 2026. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to this offering has been filed with the SEC. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus are accessible through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388, or by email at [email protected]; TD Securities (USA) LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by email at [email protected]; Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017, by telephone at (212) 518-9544, or by email at [email protected]; Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by email at [email protected]; and LifeSci Capital LLC, Attention: LifeSci Capital LLC, 1700 Broadway, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10019, or by email at [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

(Press release, Crescent Biopharma, JUL 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234669276])

On July 16, 2026 Umoja Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to delivering innovative and potentially curative immunotherapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for UB-VV400, a CD22-directed in vivo CAR T cell therapy candidate for adults with relapsed/refractory B cell malignancies.

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"UB-VV400 is our second VivoVec based in vivo CAR T cell program to advance to U.S. clinical trials," said Luke Walker, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Umoja Biopharma. "Generating CAR T cells within a patient’s body would have the potential to transform clinical practice. We designed this Phase 1/2 trial to address a critical, real-world unmet need for patients, including those who have progressed after prior CAR T cell treatment. We remain highly encouraged by the early clinical activity and safety profile seen in the patients treated in our investigator-initiated trial of UB-VV400, and we look forward to sharing initial clinical data."

The Phase 1/2 VIBRANT-1 study of UB-VV400 will open soon at U.S. clinical sites, with the first patient anticipated to be dosed in Q3 this year. The open-label, dose escalation and expansion trial is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and preliminary antitumor activity of UB-VV400 in combination with rapamycin in patients with relapsed/refractory B cell malignancies.

Initial clinical data from the investigator-initiated trial of UB-VV400 in China is expected to be shared at a major medical meeting in the second half of 2026.

(Press release, Umoja Biopharma, JUL 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234669277])