Sensei Biotherapeutics Presents New Preclinical Data on SNS-103 Targeting ENTPDase1 (CD39) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023

On April 18, 2023 Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSE), an immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation therapeutics for cancer patients, reported new preclinical data on its SNS-103 program aimed at developing a conditionally active, monoclonal antibody program targeting ENTPDase1 (also known as CD39) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2023 (Press release, Sensei Biotherapeutics, APR 18, 2023, View Source [SID1234630260]).

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"CD39 is an important target because it is the rate-limiting enzyme that creates an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment through the production of adenosine. However, it has been difficult to target effectively due to its broad expression on various cells in both tumors and normal tissues," said Edward van der Horst, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Sensei Biotherapeutics. "The hypothesis driving our program is that a pH-sensitive antibody may inhibit the pro-tumoral activities of CD39 selectively within the tumor microenvironment while avoiding on-target/off-tumor binding and pharmacokinetic issues observed with prior CD39 antibodies."

Presentation highlights:

Poster presentation titled, "Identification of conditionally active antibodies that selectively block CD39 activity in the acidic tumor microenvironment"

CD39 is commonly upregulated in the tumor microenvironment, which is characterized by high levels of extracellular ATP (eATP) and low pH. Upregulation and activation of CD39 results in significant reductions of eATP and a rise in immunosuppressive adenosine.
SNS-103 is aimed at developing an antibody that binds to CD39 only under low pH conditions such as those found in the tumor microenvironment and achieves a high target occupancy selectively in the tumor, while maintaining extracellular ATP and inhibiting adenosine generation to enhance anti-tumor immunity.
From a panel of 83 antibodies identified and characterized for CD39 inhibition at neutral and acidic pH, Sensei has selected 8 antibodies for further optimization.
Sensei intends to select a lead product candidate for SNS-103 in 2023.
The full poster is available for viewing on Sensei’s corporate website.