On September 17, 2025 TATUM bioscience, a preclinical biotechnology company developing a new immunotherapy to fight cancer, reported the publication of new research showing strong antitumor activity from its proprietary bioengineered multimodal nanofilaments (Press release, TATUM bioscience, SEP 17, 2025, View Source [SID1234656047]). The study, published in the new issue of the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) (JITC), details how this groundbreaking therapy exposes ("uncloaks") cancer cells and orchestrates a comprehensive immune response that eradicates tumors.

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"Our innovative nanofilament-directed immunotherapy overcomes cancer’s ability to hide from the immune system and unleashes a coordinated immune response against tumor cells," said Jean-François Millau, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of TATUM Bioscience.

"The immune system can be compared to an orchestra: for a powerful antitumor response, each instrument — or cellular component — must play its part at the right moment. That’s what our drug candidate, TAT003, achieves." Dr. Millau is a co-author on the article, "Nanofilament immunotherapy induces potent antitumor vaccine responses."

How TAT003 Works

TAT003 is administered directly into the tumor ("intratumorally") and combines three biological functions to drive the immune system’s antitumor response:

Checkpoint Blockade: Anti–PD-L1 single-chain antibody fragments at one end of the nanofilament bind to tumor cells, decorating the tumor and blocking the PD-L1 immune checkpoint. This allows the immune system to recognize and target the cancer.
Innate Activation: Encapsulated within the nanofilament is a TLR9 agonist, which activates macrophages to engulf tumor cells. Activated macrophages present tumor antigens to the broader immune system.
T Cell Stimulation: IL-2 molecules on the nanofilaments stimulate T cells, triggering them to seek out and destroy other cells bearing tumor antigens — mimicking a vaccine-like response.
"Strikingly, the antitumor response triggered by TAT003 nanofilament immunotherapy was both systemic and durable in animal models," said Kevin Neil, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of TATUM. "Replicating these results in patients is our goal as we move toward clinical development."

Unique Advantages Over Personalized Vaccines

TATUM’s engineered nanofilaments offer distinct advantages over other therapeutic strategies. According to Dr. Neil, "TAT003 elicits a vaccine-like effect without the complexity and cost of individualized neoantigen vaccines, which require tumor sequencing and custom manufacturing for each patient. Our approach is designed to be more practical and scalable."

Manufacturing complex, multi-specific biologics remains a major challenge in biopharma. TAT003 addresses this with a proprietary synthetic biology platform: "We have engineered bacteria to function as miniature drug factories, producing fully assembled therapeutic nanofilaments in a single step," explained Dr. Millau. "We simply culture the bacteria, and they secrete the complete, functional drug."

Dr. Gerald Batist, director of the Segal Cancer Centre at Jewish General Hospital in Montréal, commented, "These results are highly promising and suggest that nanofilament-directed immunotherapy could overcome some of the limitations seen with today’s personalized neoantigen approaches. Engaging both innate and adaptive immunity, as shown here, is likely key to improving outcomes for patients who do not benefit from current immunotherapies. This represents a major step forward in the evolving landscape of immuno-oncology." Dr. Batist is a medical advisor to TATUM.

Looking Ahead

These findings represent a major milestone for TATUM Bioscience and the advancement of nanofilament-directed immunotherapy, paving the way for a powerful and innovative approach to treating solid tumors. TATUM is currently raising funds to accelerate development and bring TAT003 into clinical trials. The company welcomes interest from investors, partners, and clinicians seeking to be part of this next era in cancer immunotherapy.