On March 17, 2026 Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing masked immuno-oncology therapies for people living with cancer, reported an upcoming poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place from April 17-22, 2026 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

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Poster presentation details, as follows:

Title: Discovery and Optimization of XTX601, a Masked Claudin 18.2-Targeting T Cell Engager
Session Category: Immunology
Session Title: T Cell Engagers 1
Session Date and Time: Monday, Apr. 20, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PST
Location: Poster Section 10
Poster Board: 11
Abstract Number: 1619

(Press release, Xilio Therapeutics, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663662])

On March 17, 2026 iDEL Therapeutics reported the closing of a EUR 9 million seed financing, establishing its operations and leadership team. The company is pioneering a pipeline of cancer therapeutics that are delivered directly into the cytosol of tumor cells. iDEL’s new approach is compatible with both large and small molecules and aims to unlock historically undruggable intracellular targets and broaden therapeutic windows across cancer indications. The financing was led by BiomedVC with participation from NRW.Venture, Gründerfonds Ruhr and the KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II.

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The proceeds will be used to advance iDEL Therapeutics’ two proprietary lead programs towards clinical evaluation. Leveraging different modalities with the potential to address a range of solid tumors, the pipeline candidates are based on the company’s proprietary shuttling technology. This pan-cancer platform enables evasion of endosomal entrapment and prevents subsequent degradation of the transported compound, a factor that can impair drug delivery and treatment efficacy, particularly for large molecules such as antibodies and their derivatives.

"iDEL Therapeutics’ concept to unlock new cancer treatments represents an exciting new opportunity with the potential to significantly impact the oncology landscape," said Marcus Kostka, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of iDEL Therapeutics. "Our technology’s broad applicability to a range of drug classes harbors the potential to improve treatment outcomes for patients living with a range of high-need cancer indications. Together with the leadership team, I look forward to expanding our preclinical proof-of-concept data, advancing our lead candidates toward the clinic and exploring additional possibilities for improved cancer treatments."

Concurrent with the financing, iDEL Therapeutics announced its leadership team which combines decades of expertise in biopharma, drug development and company building.

"Despite continuous advancements and a deeper understanding of cancer in our industry, current treatment options still face challenges related to on-target specificity and achieving a durable anti-tumor effect," said Aristotelis Nastos, PhD, Managing Partner and Investment Director at BiomedVC. "We believe that iDEL Therapeutics’ differentiated strategy has the potential to address these limitations by improving intracellular delivery, increasing target engagement and prolonging tumor retention. With an exceptional leadership team and a cutting-edge technology, the company is well positioned to advance this new therapeutic approach to deliver meaningful clinical benefit for cancer patients, and we fully support the team on this journey."

(Press release, iDEL Therapeutics, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663679])

On March 17, 2026 HCW Biologics Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: HCWB), a U.S.-based commercial- and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on supporting or developing novel fusion immunotherapies to treat autoimmune diseases, cancer, and senescence-associated dysplasia, reported the receipt of full payment of the upfront license fee with a value of $7.0 million from its licensee, Beijing Trimmune Biotech Co., Ltd. ("Trimmune").

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Trimmune is a new operating entity responsible for the development and commercialization of HCW11-006, which was formed by WY Biotech Co., Ltd. ("WY Biotech"), a China-based company specializing in the early-stage development of recombinant protein drugs and gene/cell therapies, and the Company. Trimmune investors include CITIC Medical Fund, a multi-billion-dollar investment fund focused on innovative companies primarily targeting pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and diagnostics, and TigerYeah Capital Fund of TigerMed, a global leading Contract Research Organization. Trimmune is led by a team with an impressive track record for success in the development and commercialization of innovative drugs that treat diseases with large, unmet medical needs for the Chinese market.

The upfront license fee included a cash fee of $3.5 million and a minority co-founder transferable equity position in Trimmune valued at $3.5 million based on the most recent round of financing with third parties. HCW Biologics is also eligible to receive significant development milestone payments and double-digit royalties on future product sales, as well as a portion of the proceeds from future transaction(s) involving the licensed molecule, if such a transaction occurs. In addition HCW Biologics has a payment-free, milestone-free, and royalty-free option to recapture all rights to the development and commercialization of HCW11-006 for in vivo applications in the United States, Canada, Central America, and South America (Opt-in Territory) after the conclusion of the Phase 1 clinical trial in China. Trimmune is responsible for all costs associated with the Phase 1 clinical trial in China. The deal also provides Trimmune an option to license the exclusive regional China rights to manufacture, develop and commercialize HCW9302, HCW Biologics’ clinicalstage molecule currently being evaluated in an autoimmune disorder. HCW Biologics is entitled to receive additional payments if Trimmune exercises its option to license HCW9302 for regional China rights.

(Press release, HCW Biologics, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663614])

(Press release, HCW Biologics, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663614])

On March 17, 2026 Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients with RAS/MAPK pathway-driven cancers, reported multiple abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting to be held April 17-22, 2026, in San Diego, CA.

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"Preclinical data accepted for presentation at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Special Conference in Cancer Research: RAS Oncogenesis and Therapeutics and the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting highlight our highly differentiated investigational asset VS-7375, an oral, KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor in clinical development for pancreatic, lung, colorectal and other cancers harboring a G12D mutation, the most prevalent KRAS mutation in human cancers," said Jonathan Pachter, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Verastem Oncology. "While most agents targeting KRAS G12D-driven cancers bind preferentially only to the "ON" (active) or "OFF" (inactive) state of KRAS, VS-7375 engages both active and inactive states with extremely high affinity and long residence time, which corresponds to superior efficacy across pre-clinical models of G12D mutated cancers."

Late-Breaking Abstracts

Late-breaking abstracts will be available on the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting website on April 17, 2026, 12 p.m. PT.

Session: Late-Breaking Research: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 2
Abstract #: LB183 / 5
Title: Strong durable tumor regressions with the KRAS G12D ON/OFF inhibitor VS-7375 in combination with PRMT5 inhibition in MTAP-deleted/KRAS G12D-mutant pancreatic cancer
Date and Time: April 20, 2026, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. PT

Session: Late-Breaking Research: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 2
Abstract #: LB197 / 19
Title: VS-7375, a non-covalent dual ON/OFF KRAS G12D inhibitor, displays superior activity to ON-only KRAS G12D inhibitors in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer
Date and Time: April 20, 2026, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. PT

Regular Abstracts

The accepted abstracts are available on the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting website: AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026

Session: Novel Antitumor Agents 3
Abstract & Poster Details: Abstract/Poster #7100, Poster Section #13, Poster Board #20
Title: VS-7375: An oral, selective KRAS G12D dual ON/OFF inhibitor with potent anti-tumor activity as a single agent and in combination with other agents
Date and Time: April 22, 2026, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. PT

In the KP4 KRAS G12D pancreatic cancer model, VS-7375 (50 mg/kg twice daily), zoldonrasib (100 mg/kg once daily) and daraxonrasib (25 mg/kg once daily), produced similar initial tumor regression through day nine. By approximately day 20, however, zoldonrasib and daraxonrasib lost anti-tumor activity with tumor outgrowth, (mean tumor volume >850 mm by day 30) whereas VS-7375 maintained sustained tumor regression (mean tumor volume ~80 mm by day 30), consistent with pharmacodynamic analyses showing durable pathway inhibition only with VS-7375. VS-7375 also showed deeper tumor regression compared to these RAS ON-only inhibitors in KRAS G12D-mutated lung and colorectal xenograft models.

Session: Therapies Targeting Metastasis
Abstract & Poster Details: Abstract/Poster #2232, Poster Section #32, Poster Board #7
Title: Investigating the combined inhibition of RAF, MEK, and FAK in melanoma molecular subtypes
Date and Time: April 20, 2026, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. PT

In mutant BRAF-driven models, the combination of the FAK inhibitor VS-4718 and the RAF/MEK clamp avutometinib, with or without the mutant BRAF inhibitor encorafenib, significantly delayed tumor onset, induced regression of established tumors and brain metastases, and prolonged overall survival.

AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: RAS Oncogenesis and Therapeutics

At the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Special Conference in Cancer Research: RAS Oncogenesis and Therapeutics held March 5-8, 2026, Dr. Jonathan Pachter, delivered a plenary oral presentation titled, "Anti-tumor efficacy of the selective oral KRAS G12D dual ON/OFF inhibitor VS-7375 as a single agent and in combination with targeted agents." This presentation can be found on the Company’s website on the Resources page.

About VS-7375, an Oral KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) Inhibitor

VS-7375 is a potential best-in-class, potent, and selective oral KRAS G12D dual ON/OFF inhibitor. VS-7375 is the lead program from the Verastem Oncology discovery and development collaboration with GenFleet Therapeutics. Verastem initiated VS-7375-101, an international Phase 1/2 clinical trial, in June of 2025 in the U.S., that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of VS-7375 in patients with advanced KRAS G12D mutant solid tumors. In July 2025, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) to VS-7375 for the first-line treatment of patients with KRAS G12D-mutated locally advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (PDAC) and for the treatment of patients with KRAS G12D-mutated locally advanced or metastatic PDAC who have received at least one prior line of standard systemic therapy.

About the GenFleet Therapeutics Collaboration

The collaboration with GenFleet Therapeutics aims to advance three oncology discovery programs related to RAS/MAPK pathway-driven cancers. The collaboration provides Verastem with an exclusive option to obtain a license for each of the three compounds in the collaboration after the successful completion of pre-determined milestones in a Phase 1 trial. Verastem selected VS-7375 (also known as GFH375), an oral KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor, as its lead program in December 2023 and the license for VS-7375 that was exercised in January 2025 is the first one from this collaboration. The licenses would give Verastem development and commercialization rights outside the GenFleet markets of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

(Press release, Verastem, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663631])

On March 17, 2026 SingleCell Biotechnology, a biotechnology company developing technologies to measure tumor cell behavior at single-cell resolution, reported that data from its platform will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026, to be held in San Diego, April 17-21, 2026.

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Relapse remains one of the most persistent challenges in oncology. While many therapies successfully reduce tumor size, a subset of tumor cells can survive treatment and later regenerate disease. These cells often exhibit behaviors, such as slow proliferation, migration or transient dormancy, that are difficult to detect using traditional preclinical models, where measurements are typically averaged across large populations of rapidly dividing tumor cells. As a result, promising drug candidates may advance through development without being evaluated against the cell populations most responsible for treatment resistance and recurrence.

SingleCell Biotechnology is developing a high-throughput single-cell phenotyping platform designed to measure tumor cell growth, migration and quiescent states at scale. The platform enables large-scale measurement of clonal tumor cell proliferation while preserving the diversity of cellular behaviors within tumors. By combining functional phenotyping with molecular analysis, the approach aims to provide deeper insight into tumor heterogeneity and support more informed decision-making in oncology drug discovery.

Presentation Details:

Poster Title: An Integrated High-throughput Assay for Proliferative Phenotypic and Omics
Presenter: Shiska Raut, Machine Learning Engineer
Location: Poster Section 51
Poster Board Number: 9
Session Date/Time: Sunday, April 19, 2026, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

(Press release, Single Cell Technology, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663647])