On November 9, 2020 Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc. ("Immune-Onc"), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company, reported that it will present preclinical data evaluating IO-108, a novel antagonist antibody targeting the myeloid checkpoint Leukocyte Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor B2 (LILRB2, also known as ILT4) for the treatment of solid tumors, at The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020). The full meeting takes place virtually November 9-14, 2020 (Press release, Immune-Onc Therapeutics, NOV 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234570531]).
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The poster (Abstract #686) titled, "Preclinical Characterization of a Novel Therapeutic Antibody Targeting LILRB2", will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4:50-5:20 p.m. EST and on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1-1:30 p.m. EST.
"Immune-Onc’s unique scientific insights in myeloid cell checkpoints, with a particular focus on the Leukocyte Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor subfamily B (LILRB), have led to a promising and differentiated immunotherapy pipeline," said Charlene Liao, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Immune-Onc. "The preclinical data to be presented at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) demonstrate the exciting potential of IO-108, a novel therapeutic agent targeting LILRB2. We look forward to advancing IO-108 into the clinic in 2021 to evaluate its safety and efficacy in patients with solid tumors."
IO-108 binds to LILRB2 with high affinity and specificity and blocks the interaction of LILRB2 with ligands that are involved in cancer-associated immune suppression including HLA-G, ANGPTLs and SEMA4A. In assays with primary cells, IO-108 enhances pro-inflammatory activation of immune cells and induces differentiation of monocytes into activated dendritic cells. In ex vivo functional studies with samples from solid tumor patients, IO-108 reprograms immune suppressive myeloid cells to a pro-inflammatory phenotype, thereby enhancing T-cell activation. Together these data suggest that IO-108 has potential therapeutic benefit in solid tumors not responsive to T-cell checkpoint inhibitors. The company plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for IO-108 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Q2 2021.
ABOUT LILRB2 (ILT4)
LILRB2, also known as ILT4, is expressed mostly on myeloid cells, including monocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. In solid tumors, interaction of LILRB2 with tumor microenvironment (TME) relevant ligands, including HLA-G, ANGPTLs, and SEMA4A, makes myeloid cells pro-tumorigenic (tolerating or promoting tumor growth) and promotes tumor immune evasion.