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Immune-Onc Therapeutics to Showcase Leadership in Myeloid Biology and Drug Development at Upcoming Scientific and Investor Conferences

On March 3, 2023 Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc. ("Immune-Onc"), a private, clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company developing novel biotherapeutics targeting myeloid checkpoints, announced today its plans to present on the company’s myeloid biology research and clinical stage programs at three upcoming scientific and investor conferences in March. The presentations will highlight the potential of Immune-Onc’s pipeline of first-in-class myeloid checkpoint inhibitors to transform current treatment approaches for blood cancers and solid tumors.

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Keystone Symposia: Cancer Immunotherapy: Mechanisms of Response Versus Resistance
Date: Sunday, March 5 – Thursday, March 9
Location: Alberta, Canada

At the prestigious Keystone Symposia on Cancer Immunotherapy, Immune-Onc’s Scientific Founder Dr. Chengcheng Alec Zhang will join the company’s Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), Dr. Michael Karin and Senior Director of Translational Research, Dr. Xiao Min Schebye for a series of pivotal presentations highlighting foundational research and insights driving our evolving understanding of mechanisms of response and resistance to cancer immunotherapy, and in particular, the LILRB family of immune inhibitory receptors as a promising class of therapeutic targets.

Oral Presentation Details:

Date: Monday, March 6
Presenter: Dr. Michael Karin, Immune-Onc SAB chair and professor of pharmacology at University of California, San Diego
Title: Inflammation and Cancer: A Double-Edged Sword
Oral Session: Dysfunctional Immune Cells in the TME
Date: Wednesday, March 8
Presenter: Dr. Xiao Min Schebye, senior director of translational research at Immune-Onc
Title: Anti-LAIR1 Antagonistic Antibodies Block Collagen-mediated Suppression of T Cell Activation
Oral Session: Workshop 2
Date: Wednesday, March 8
Presenter: Dr. Chengcheng Alec Zhang, scientific founder of Immune-Onc and the Morton H. Sanger Professorship in Oncology and Michael L. Rosenberg Scholar for Biomedical Research at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Title: LILRBs – Myeloid Checkpoint Targets for Cancer Treatment
Oral Session: Innate Immune Pathways and the Anti-Tumor Response
2nd Year Anniversary Symposium of the Myeloid Network
Date: Thursday, March 9 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Title: Novel Myeloid Checkpoint Inhibitors as Next Generation Cancer Immunotherapy
Location: Virtual

Charlene Liao, Ph.D., founder, chief executive officer and board chair of Immune-Onc will present an overview of the company’s work advancing the field of myeloid checkpoint inhibitors at the 2nd Year Anniversary Symposium of the Myeloid Network. The Myeloid Network seeks to connect researchers worldwide to promote communication and advancement of research and medicine in the field of myeloid cell biology. "I think your work represents the biotechnology industry outstandingly and I would love to feature your work as the final talk of our annual symposium," said Judith Varner, Ph.D., co-founder of the Myeloid Network, professor of pathology and medicine and co-leader in solid tumor therapeutics at UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer Center in the invitation extended to Dr. Liao.

Oppenheimer 33rd Annual Healthcare Conference
Date: Monday, March 13 – Wednesday, March 15
Presentation: Tuesday, March 14 (4:00-4:30 p.m. ET)

Dr. Liao will present a corporate overview on Tuesday, March 14 at 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET (Track 2) and will participate in virtual one-on-one meetings.

Affini-T Therapeutics to Present Data from Lead Oncogenic Driver Candidate at AACR Special Conference: Targeting RAS

On March 3, 2023 Affini-T Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company unlocking the power of T cells against oncogenic driver mutations, reported that data for its lead oncogenic driver candidate targeting KRAS G12V, AFNT-111, will be presented at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Special Conference: Targeting Ras (Press release, Affini-T Therapeutics, MAR 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234628127]).

"We continue to see encouraging data from preclinical studies of AFNT-111 as we progress toward clinical investigation," said Loïc Vincent, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Affini-T Therapeutics. "We have observed high potency and specificity as well as a favorable tolerability profile, which provides encouraging support for our oncogenic driver programs. We look forward to presenting these data at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Special Conference: Targeting Ras in Philadelphia."

Presentation details are as follows:

Abstract #A009, Poster Session A: March 6th 4:45-7:00 pm ET: AFNT-111: a novel TCR-engineered T cell therapy targeting the oncogenic driver KRAS G12V – Presenting Authors: Gary Shapiro, Ph.D. and Michele Hoffmann, Ph.D., Affini-T Therapeutics

Puma Biotechnology Reports Inducement Awards Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

On March 3, 2023 Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBYI), a biopharmaceutical company, reported that on March 1, 2023, the Compensation Committee of Puma’s Board of Directors approved the grant of an inducement restricted stock unit award covering 9,375 shares of Puma common stock to one new non-executive employee (Press release, Puma Biotechnology, MAR 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234628126]).

The award was granted under Puma’s 2017 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan, which was adopted on April 27, 2017 and provides for the granting of equity awards to new employees of Puma. The restricted stock unit award vests over a three-year period, with one-third of the shares underlying the award vesting on the first anniversary of the award’s vesting commencement date, March 1, 2023, and one-sixth of the shares underlying the award vesting on each six-month anniversary of the vesting commencement date thereafter, subject to continued service. The award was granted as an inducement material to the new employee entering into employment with Puma, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

Kezar Announces Inducement Grants Under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

On March 3, 2023 Kezar Life Sciences, Inc., (Nasdaq: KZR), a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for immune-mediated and oncologic disorders, reported that the Compensation Committee of the company’s Board of Directors granted three employees nonqualified stock options to purchase 33,000 shares of its common stock with an exercise price of $5.43 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Kezar’s common stock on March 2, 2023, the grant date of the awards (Press release, , MAR 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234628125]). The stock options were granted as an inducement award material to the individuals entering into employment with Kezar, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The stock options will vest over a four-year period, with 25% of each option vesting on the first anniversary of the employee’s start date, and 1/48th of the total shares vesting monthly thereafter, subject to continued employment on each vesting date. The options are subject to the terms and conditions of Kezar’s 2022 Inducement Plan and the stock option agreement covering the grants.

Results of CLDN18.2-targeting Immuno-PET Probe for Non-invasive Imaging in Gastrointestinal Tumors Published

On March 3, 2023 Transcenta Holding Limited ("Transcenta") (HKEX: 06628), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with fully-integrated capabilities in discovery, research, development and manufacturing of antibody-based therapeutics, reported that the study results of its CLDN18.2-targeting Immuno-PET probe [89Zr]Zr-DFO-TST001 for non-invasive imaging in gastrointestinal tumors have been published on Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis (Press release, Transcenta, MAR 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234628124]).

The study, led by Professor Hua Zhu and his team from Beijing Cancer Hospital. The study successfully prepared and evaluated the 89Zr labeled GMP grade anti-CLDN18.2 recombinant humanized antibody TST001 as molecular imaging probe. [89Zr]Zr-DFO-TST001 exhibited good specificity at the cellular level and rapid tumor accumulation which remained positive from 24 to 96 hours. It provides a promising non-invasive imaging tool for detecting the treatment effects of therapeutic antibodies in humans in real time and for the screening and efficacy evaluation of patients targeted for CLDN18.2 therapy in the future.

Clinical studies indicated that the CLDN18.2 expression level was correlated with drug efficacy, showing more clinical benefit in patients with CLDN18.2 high expression in tumors. Therefore, patient selection based on CLDN18.2 expression level becomes critical for CLDN18.2-targeted therapies. At present, the main detection method of CLDN18.2 protein expression is immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC is invasive, and requires endoscopic biopsy, and the sampling site and number are limited. Due to the heterogeneous nature of tumor, the CLDN18.2 distribution and dynamic changes in expression levels in patients cannot be fully reflected in real-time. Molecular imaging can be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool to detect the expression and distribution of CLDN18.2 in the lesion using the radioactive signal emitted by the radiotracer, thereby help to screen patients with potential benefit to therapy, evaluate the efficacy of CLDN18.2 targeted therapy, and guide the accurate diagnosis and treatment of tumors.

"This study successfully achieved the development, quality control and Micro-PET imaging clinical evaluation of GMP-grade monoclonal nuclide probes targeting CLDN18.2, providing a new path for the development of ZR-89-labeled tumor targeting monoclonal antibodies. In cell and animal models, [89Zr]Zr-DFO-TST001 specifically recognizes and targets the CLDN18.2 receptor/tissue. With the increasingly popular PET/CT examination equipment, the probe is expected to be used for screening patients with potential benefit to therapy, localizing of systemic lesions and efficacy evaluation" said Prof. Hua Zhu from Beijing Cancer Hospital.

"We are fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with leading colleges and institutes on the development of a CLDN18.2-targeting Immuno-PET Probe for gastrointestinal tumors. Optimizing the selection of patients in a non-invasive way is key to improve the overall benefit risk of CLDN18.2 targeted treatments. This technology also opens up innovative ways of monitoring treatment outcomes. We look forward to further development of this approach and potential use in the clinics." said Dr. Xueming Qian, CEO of Transcenta.

The study results were jointly carried out by

NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute
School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwest Medical University
Suzhou Transcenta Therapeutics Co., Ltd, Suzhou
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School
Guizhou University Medicine College
Original article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095177923000357

About TST001 (Osemitamab)

TST001 (Osemitamab) is a high affinity humanized anti- CLDN18.2 monoclonal antibody with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity ("ADCC") and complement-dependent cytotoxicity ("CDC") activities and potent anti-tumor activities in tumor xenograft models. TST001 (Osemitamab) is the second most advanced CLDN18.2 targeting antibody being developed globally. TST001 (Osemitamab) is generated using Transcenta’s Immune Tolerance Breaking Technology (IMTB) platform. TST001 (Osemitamab) kills CLDN18.2 expressing tumor cells by mechanisms of ADCC and CDC. Leveraging advanced bioprocessing technology, the fucose content of TST001 (Osemitamab) was significantly reduced during the production, which further enhanced NK cells mediated ADCC activity of TST001 (Osemitamab). Clinical trials for TST001 (Osemitamab) are ongoing in the U.S. and China (NCT04396821, NCT04495296/CTR20201281). TST001 (Osemitamab) was granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. by FDA for the treatment of patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer.