On October 02, 2017 Ignyta, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXDX), a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in oncology, reported new preclinical data for RXDX-106 – a novel immunomodulatory agent with potent anti-tumor activity, alone and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, that appears to restore and enhance overall immune function by reversing immunosuppression of innate immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) through TYRO3, AXL, and MER (TAM) receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibition (Press release, Ignyta, OCT 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234520743]). The data were presented in a poster session (abstract number A37) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy in Boston, Massachusetts.

“We continue to be excited by the preclinical profile of RXDX-106 and its potential to elicit and potentiate an immune response to cancer, both as a single agent and combined with checkpoint inhibitors,” said Jonathan Lim, M.D., chairman and CEO of Ignyta. “TAM receptors are novel immuno-oncologic RTK targets for precision medicine therapies such as RXDX-106, which we are eager to bring into the clinic as soon as possible to potentially help patients in their fight against cancer.”

In the study, researchers demonstrated immune-mediated, single-agent anti-tumor activity of RXDX-106 in multiple tumor models. The anti-tumor effect was further enhanced by combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors, potentially by reversing immunosuppression of innate immunity in the TME. The data also suggest that RXDX-106 has a novel mechanism of enhancing overall immune function by activating both innate and adaptive immunity, as observed by treatment-mediated changes in relevant cytokine levels and immune cell biomarkers, and regulating cross-talk between immune and cancer cells. These promising early findings support further development of RXDX-106 to potentially treat a wide variety of cancers.