HEIDELBERG, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2019 / Apogenix, a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation immuno-oncology therapeutics, announced today that it will present an overview of its HERA-ligand technology platform for cancer immunotherapy at Cambridge Healthtech Institute's 4th Annual Cancer Immunotherapy: Executive Summit, which is part of the 26th International Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference in San Francisco, CA, USA. In addition, the company will provide updates on three of its HERA-ligands in poster presentations at the AACR Annual Meeting 2019 in Atlanta, GA, USA.
Cambridge Healthtech Institute's 4th Annual Cancer Immunotherapy: Executive Summit (Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference, March 10 - 15, 2019)
Venue: Moscone South Convention Center, San Francisco, CA, USA
Presentation on March 12, 11:25 am: "Hexavalent Agonists Targeting the TNFR Superfamily for Cancer Immunotherapy"
Presenter: Oliver Hill, Ph.D., VP Molecular Biology/Protein Engineering
AACR Annual Meeting 2019 (March 29 - April 3, 2019)
Venue: Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
Attendees: Christian Gieffers, Ph.D., VP Early Development; Andriy Krendyukov, M.D., MBA, VP Medical Affairs; Matthias Schroeder, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Assay Development; Julian Sefrin, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Immunology
Poster Presentations:
- Abstract 4143 - April 2, 1:00 - 5:00 pm, Section 25: "The novel hexavalent human GITR agonist HERA-GITRL promotes anti-tumor efficacy independent of Fc-functionality and shows superior activity compared with the monoclonal anti-GITR antibody TRX518"
- Abstract 4845 - April 3, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Section 15: "HERA-CD27L, a true CD27 agonist, is a hexavalent CD27 ligand that enhances T cell activation and induces potent anti-tumor immunity"
- Abstract 5015 - April 3, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Section 25: "HERA-CD40L, a hexavalent CD40 agonist, induces T cell mediated anti-tumor immune response and shows superior activity in direct comparison to benchmark agonistic antibodies"
BIO-Europe Spring (March 25 - 27, 2019)
Venue: Messe Wien Exhibition and Congress Center, Vienna, Austria
Juergen Gamer, Ph.D., VP Business Development of Apogenix, will be available for meetings at the conference.
About Apogenix
Apogenix is a private company developing innovative immuno-oncology therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other malignant diseases. The Heidelberg, Germany-based company has built a promising pipeline of immuno-oncology drug candidates that target different tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily-dependent signaling pathways, thereby restoring the immune response against tumors. Checkpoint inhibitor asunercept, the company's lead immuno-oncology candidate, is in late-stage clinical development. In 2017, asunercept received PRIME (PRIority MEdicines) designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of glioblastoma. Based on its proprietary technology platform for the construction of novel TNF superfamily receptor agonists (HERA-ligands), Apogenix develops CD40, CD27, GITR, HVEM, and 4-1BB receptor agonists for cancer immunotherapy.
In 2015, asunercept was exclusively licensed to CANbridge Life Sciences for the development and commercialization for the treatment of glioblastoma in China, Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. CANbridge has received approval by the China Food and Drug Administration for a pivotal phase II/III trial with asunercept (CAN008) in glioblastoma in China. The HERA-TRAIL receptor agonist program was partnered with AbbVie in 2014. In 2017, AbbVie initiated a phase I trial with this HERA-TRAIL receptor agonist (ABBV-621) in patients suffering from solid tumors, non-Hodgkins's lymphoma, or acute myeloid leukemia.
About HERA-Ligands
Apogenix has developed a proprietary technology platform for the construction of novel TNF superfamily receptor agonists (HERA-ligands). By stimulating different TNF signaling pathways, these HERA-ligands can increase the anti-tumor immune response. The specific molecular structure of Apogenix' HERA-ligands induces a well-defined clustering of functional TNF receptors on the surface of target immune cells. In contrast to agonistic antibodies, Apogenix' fusion proteins are pure agonists whose potent signaling capacity is independent of secondary Fcγ receptor-mediated cross-linking. In addition, HERA-ligands cause neither antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity nor complement-dependent cytotoxicity and exhibit a shorter half-life than antibodies. It is therefore expected that HERA-ligands will cause less side effects in clinical development.
Contacts
Peter Willinger, CFO
Jennifer Mogk, PR Manager
Apogenix AG
Phone: +49 6221 58608-0
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.apogenix.com
Media Contacts
Katja Arnold
Andreas Jungfer
MC Services AG
Phone: +49 89 210228-0
E-Mail: [email protected]