On November 7, 2018 BioInvent International AB (OMXS: BINV), focused on the discovery and development of novel and first-in-class immuno-regulatory antibodies to treat cancer, and Transgene (Euronext Paris: TNG), a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies, reported they will be presenting two back-to-back posters featuring positive data supporting their ongoing collaboration to develop a novel oncolytic virus encoding for an anti-CTLA-4 antibody at the annual meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) to be held November 7-11 in Washington, D.C (Press release, Transgene, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234530909]).

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This novel oncolytic virus combines a Transgene Invir.IO Vaccinia virus (VV)-based oncolytic vector, with BioInvent’s human anti-CTLA-4 antibody (IgG1) and a human cytokine.

BioInvent and Transgene are together creating a novel armed oncolytic virus that will be able to infect and selectively replicate within the tumor, inducing cancer cell destruction, and to elicit a strong immune response that is further enhanced by the local expression of the immune checkpoint inhibitor and the cytokine. This novel oncolytic virus is expected to deliver better treatment outcomes with an improved safety profile as the patient is not exposed to the potential systemic toxicity of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody.

In the posters, Transgene and BioInvent provide further details on the strengths and advantages of their respective technologies:

Transgene’s VV is a highly oncolytic and immunogenic viral vector that has demonstrated its ability to ensure the expression of a fully functional, full-length antibody in the tumor and trigger a massive immune infiltration into the tumor with low systemic exposition to the molecule;
BioInvent has developed a potent anti-CTLA-4 antibody, selected and characterized for its improved FcγR-dependent Treg depleting efficacy. FcγR-dependent Treg depletion was recently found to play a key role in the anti-CTLA-4 antibody’s efficacy in vivo.
Björn Frendéus, Chief Scientific Officer of BioInvent said: "Having identified a lead human anti-CTLA-4 antibody candidate with improved Treg-depleting activity compared with ipilimumab, we are looking forward to advancing the program presented at the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) in collaboration with Transgene, and develop a potentially safe and more efficacious strategy to combine anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PDL1 checkpoint inhibition in the context of oncolytic virotherapy."

Eric Quéméneur, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Executive VP, Chief Scientific Officer of Transgene, said: "We are very pleased with the progress of our collaboration with BioInvent. The data that both companies present at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) underline the potential of combining our synergistic expertise to generate a novel oncolytic virus capable of delivering a potent anti-CTLA-4 antibody directly into the tumor micro-environment. The concept of combining the merits of our respective technologies was already demonstrated in preclinical experiments and we look forward to demonstrating its potential in the clinic."

The posters will be on display both Friday, November 9 and Saturday, November 10 in the Poster Hall (Hall E). They will also be available after the conference on the companies’ respective websites, www.transgene.fr and www.bioinvent.com.

Antibody-armed oncolytic Vaccinia virus to block immunosuppressive pathways in the tumor microenvironment – Poster P615

Authors: Marchand JB, Semmrich M, Fend L, Tornberg UC, Silvestre N, Frendéus B, Quéméneur E
Generation and characterization of a CTLA-4 antibody with improved FcγR-dependent

Treg deletion for tumor microenvironment-targeted oncolytic virotherapy of cancer – Poster 602

Authors: Semmrich M, Marchand JB, Holmkvist P, Mårtensson L, Tornberg UC, Fend L, Kovacek M, Teige I, McAllister A, Quéméneur E, Frendéus B