On March 14, 2023 Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel T-cell therapies to treat cancer, reported it has entered into a license agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, to develop and commercialize a novel antibody targeting mesothelin (MSLN) in combination with Eureka’s proprietary ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform (Press release, Eureka Therapeutics, MAR 14, 2023, View Source [SID1234628724]).

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MSLN is a cell-surface protein overexpressed in many solid tumors, including mesothelioma, ovarian, pancreatic, breast and lung cancers, making it a promising target for cancer therapies. The NCI antibody licensed to Eureka has shown potential in preclinical studies to selectively bind to and kill cancer cells expressing MSLN while sparing normal cells, which could make it an effective cancer treatment.

Eureka has previously demonstrated that its proprietary ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform has several advantages over conventional chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), including better tumor infiltration, safety, and T cell persistence. By combining the newly licensed MSLN-targeting antibody with the ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform, Eureka and NCI intend to develop a next-generation T-cell therapy that can effectively target and eliminate MSLN-expressing cancer cells.

"We are excited to add this promising antibody to our ARTEMIS receptor portfolio and to advance the development of a potentially transformative T-cell therapy for solid tumors," said Dr. Cheng Liu, President and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics. "Our goal is to develop safe and effective T-cell therapies to treat MSLN-expressing cancers. We believe the combination of our ARTEMIS platform and this novel antibody targeting MSLN is a promising approach to achieve this goal."

"The license of NCI’s MSLN-targeting antibody highlights our commitment to advancing promising cancer therapies," said Dr. Ira Pastan, Chief Emeritus of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Head of the Molecular Biology Section at the NCI Center for Cancer Research. "Such partnerships have the potential to bring transformative therapies to patients."

Eureka plans to continue preclinical development of the antibody to support an investigational new drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).