On October 8, 2025 Alligator Bioscience (Nasdaq Stockholm: ATORX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing tumor-directed immuno-oncology antibody drugs, reported the publication of a peer-reviewed article in Cell Reports Medicine, a Cell Press journal (Press release, Alligator Bioscience, OCT 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234656505]). The paper presents biomarkers associated with clinical efficacy endpoints from the Phase 1b/2 OPTIMIZE-1 trial evaluating Alligator’s CD40 agonist mitazalimab in combination with mFOLFIRINOX chemotherapy in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC).

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The publication, titled "CD40 agonist mitazalimab with mFOLFIRINOX in untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer: biomarkers associated with outcomes from OPTIMIZE-1", provides mechanistic insights into determinants of clinical response and offers translational support for a planned randomized Phase 3 trial.

Key findings from the publication include:

Clinical efficacy: The OPTIMIZE-1 study met its primary endpoint, with a confirmed objective response rate of 42.1% in the Phase 2 cohort. Median duration of response was 12.6 months, progression-free survival 7.7 months, and overall survival 14.9 months. The survival rate at 24 months was 29.4%, triple that of chemotherapy alone.
Tumor gene signature linked to outcome: Baseline expression of a tumor-intrinsic fibrotic gene signature, directly linked to the mode of action of mitazalimab, was associated with improved overall survival.
Peripheral immune activation: Mitazalimab-induced increases in circulating activated immune cells correlated with better clinical outcomes.
Intratumoral immune activation: Patients with objective clinical responses displayed mitazalimab-induced immune activation supporting mitazalimab’s contribution to clinical outcomes
Translational impact: strongly supports mitazalimabs contribution to the improved clinical outcomes observed in OPTIMIZE-1 and supports future development of predictive biomarkers for mitazalimab.
"These data provide important guidance for understanding which patients may benefit most from mitazalimab-based immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer, and provides further evidence for mitazalimab’s contribution to the sustained clinical benefit observed in the OPTIMIZE-1 trial" said Søren Bregenholt, CEO of Alligator Bioscience. "The integration of biomarker-driven insights into our clinical development strategy strengthens the foundation for the next phase of mitazalimab’s evaluation in this high-need indication."

On October 8, 2025 Aptevo Therapeutics ("Aptevo" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:APVO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel bispecific and trispecific immuno-oncology therapeutics, reported its participation in upcoming key financial, industry, scientific and medical conferences this fall, providing the opportunity to highlight continued momentum and recent developments among a broad range of stakeholder audiences (Press release, Aptevo Therapeutics, OCT 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234656521]).

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These conferences include:

4th Annual ROTH Healthcare Opportunities Conference
October 9, 2025 – Metropolitan Club, New York City, New York

Aptevo will participate in a panel on Acute Myeloid Leukemia titled "Novel AML Therapies Showing Clear Clinical Progress," discussing progress and recent trial outcomes of its lead asset, mipletamig, and sharing emerging evidence of its differentiated clinical profile in frontline AML-where strong safety, tolerability, and early efficacy continue to demonstrate meaningful potential for improved patient outcomes

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)-Europe 2025 – 31st Annual International Partnering Conference
November 3-5, 2025 (in-person); Digital Partnering Days: November 11-12, 2025 – Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

The Business Development Team will be on-site and actively participating in meetings at the largest biotechnology meeting in Europe

Society of Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2025 – 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting
November 5-9, 2025 – Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland

Aptevo’s R&D Team will present a poster highlighting a novel trispecific targeting Nectin-4, CD3 and CD40 to overcome the immunosuppressive the tumor microenvironment

American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2025 – 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 6-9, 2025 – Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida

Interim results from the ongoing Phase 1b/2 RAINIER trial evaluating mipletamig in frontline combination therapy for the treatment of AML, will be presented in a poster session by the clinical team.

On October 8, 2025 Lisata Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LSTA) ("Lisata" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and other serious diseases, and Catalent, Inc. ("Catalent"), a leader in enabling the development and supply of better treatments for patients worldwide, reported a global product license agreement that allows Catalent to incorporate Lisata’s certepetide into antibody-drug conjugates ("ADCs") developed using Catalent’s SMARTag technology platform (Press release, Catalent, OCT 8, 2025, https://www.catalent.com/media-advisories/lisata-therapeutics-and-catalent-announce-global-antibody-drug-conjugate-adc-license-agreement/ [SID1234656506]). Certepetide, a proprietary, internalizing RGD (arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid) or "iRGD" cyclic peptide, is being tested by Lisata as a cancer therapeutic to be used in combination with other anti-cancer agents to enhance tumor targeting and penetration and improve treatment outcomes.

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Under the licensing agreement, Catalent gains worldwide, non-exclusive rights to develop and commercialize bioconjugate products containing certepetide and its analogs, including the ability to partner with third parties. As part of this collaboration, Catalent will have the right to evaluate certepetide and its analogs as SMARTag payloads in clinical studies across multiple ADCs targeting difficult-to-treat diseases, with the goal of creating a new class of targeted bioconjugate therapies. Lisata is eligible to receive over $10 million in tiered study initiation milestone payments plus revenue sharing on future sales and partnerships.

"This collaboration is based on positive preclinical results generated by Catalent’s use of an iRGD peptide as part of its SMARTag ADC platform," stated Kristen K. Buck, M.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Lisata. "It underscores our mutual belief in certepetide’s broad potential and is another significant step forward in Lisata’s mission to bring transformative therapies to patients. Catalent’s technology and innovative approach are a perfect complement to certepetide’s biology." Preclinical work supporting incorporation of iRGD peptides into the SMARTag ADC platform will be highlighted at this November’s World ADC conference in San Diego.

"We are excited about the opportunity to explore iRGD biology as it relates to ADC delivery to the tumor microenvironment. Early data suggest that incorporating iRGD peptides into ADCs improves efficacy and pharmacokinetics, leading us to be optimistic about the potential of iRGD as a novel payload class," said Penelope Drake, Head of R&D, Bioconjugates at Catalent.

On October 8, 2025 Accent Therapeutics reported an asset purchase agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim for a preclinical, potentially first-in-class small molecule program. This innovative asset offers a new strategy for treating tumors with high interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, representing a meaningful addition to Boehringer’s portfolio of cancer cell–directed and immuno-oncology therapies.

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"We are delighted that Boehringer Ingelheim will now advance this leading preclinical program with the potential to address tumors with high unmet need," said Shakti Narayan, Chief Executive Officer, Accent Therapeutics. "This strategic transaction sharpens our focus on advancing our lead clinical assets through their ongoing Phase 1/2 studies and delivering on our commitment to patients."

Notably, the acquired program is designed to stimulate antitumor immunity and its unique mechanism positions it as a strong candidate for combination with cancer immunotherapies – a cornerstone of Boehringer’s research strategy.

Accent Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment and is entitled to success-based preclinical milestone payments under the terms of the agreement. Boehringer Ingelheim will assume global responsibility for research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the program, advancing it toward clinical evaluation.

Source: Press release, Boehringer Ingelheim, OCT 8, 2025, View Source

On October 8, 2025 Circio Holding ASA (OSE: CRNA), a biotechnology company developing powerful circular RNA technology for next generation nucleic acid medicine, reported the publication of a comprehensive data package demonstrating AAV-circVec in vivo tissue-specific proof-of-concept (Press release, Circio, OCT 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234656507]). The results are being delivered in a poster presentation at the European Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (ESGCT) annual meeting 2025 in Seville, Spain.

In the ESGCT poster presentation, Circio is presenting new and expanded in vivo results demonstrating the advantage of circVec as a novel expression system to transform AAV gene therapy. In heart tissue, circVec 3.2 shows highly localized activity that outperforms conventional mRNA-based AAV expression by up to 40-fold. These results have been demonstrated and confirmed both by IVIS scanning and post-mortem ex vivo tissue analysis. To validate the technology in a therapeutically relevant setting, Circio has initiated technical development of circVec-AAV gene therapy constructs for Danon disease, a devastating cardiac genetic disease with no therapeutic options available today.

"Circio has worked systematically to optimize the circVec design for AAV gene delivery over the past two years. The latest circVec 3.2 generation incorporates a novel genetic feature that drives up AAV protein expression to levels that substantially exceed conventional mRNA-based AAVs. We are now advancing rapidly to validate these findings in relevant genetic disease models," said Dr. Thomas B. Hansen, CTO of Circio. "Importantly, the strong advantage in the heart is also observed in several other tissues and AAV variants. This consistency supports broad applicability of our circVec platform, thereby opening development and partnering opportunities in multiple therapeutic areas."

The presentation also includes data showing a strong increase in expression levels with the trend for continued signal accumulation following local delivery of previous generation circVec 2.0 AAV vector to the eye. Testing of the latest generation circVec 3.2 in eye and other tissues is currently being initiated, and a novel circVec generation 4.0, which incorporates further genetic enhancer elements, is due to enter initial in vivo screening experiments.

"ESGCT provides an excellent forum to showcase the circVec platform to a wide academic and industry audience as a potential solution to address the key issue preventing broad adoption and success of AAV gene therapy," said Dr. Erik D Wiklund, CEO of Circio. "The AAV field has recently experienced several major setbacks due to severe toxicity issues in ongoing clinical studies. Switching to circVec-based expression can enable substantial dose reduction, which we expect will lead to considerable improvements in safety for patients and lower treatment cost. The circVec platform could thereby completely transform the clinical and commercial viability of AAV therapy as we know it today and establish circVec as a novel gold-standard gene expression system."

Title of presentation and poster:
CircVec: Enhancing gene and cell therapy using circular RNA vector expression technology (poster no. 1041)

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Presenter: CTO Dr. Thomas B Hansen & CSO Dr. Victor Levitsky