On June 22, 2022 Boost Immune, which researches and develops immuno-oncology for new targets, reported the company has closed Series A worth 17 billion won (Press release, Boostimmune, JUN 22, 2023, View Source [SID1234634473]). It has been 10 months since the 2 billion won pre-A round in August last year.

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Boost Immune CEO Lee Kwang-hee said, "This follow-up investment fund will be used for the pre-clinical entry of the leading BIO-101 project and production of samples for clinical trials." It plans to apply for a clinical trial application (IND) to the US FDA by the end of 2023.

Boost Immune attracted pre-A funding from Mirae Asset Financial Group, Ajou IB Investment, Company K Partners, and Smilegate Investment in August of last year. In this series A round, all four existing investors made follow-up investments, and SV Investment, Premier Partners, We Ventures, and Timefolio Asset Management joined as new investors.As a result, BoostImmune has raised venture capital investments for a period of about a year since its establishment

. Boost Immune was co-founded in

February 2021 by CEO Kwang-Hee Lee and Professor Tadatsugu Taniguchi of the University of Tokyo. ‘, a new ADC (antibody drug polymer) project ‘BIO-103’, and has a number of pipelines.

CEO Lee Kwang-hee received a bachelor’s/master’s degree in molecular biology from Seoul National University and a doctorate from Washington University School of Medicine in the United States, then pursued a postdoctoral program at Genentech in San Francisco, USA. Since then, he has served as the director of Sanofi Korea Research Center and vice president of translational research at Bridge Biotherapeutics.

Professor Taniguchi is a world-renowned immunologist who first discovered interleukin 2, interferon beta, and HMGB1. He has been awarded the Robert Koch Prize in Germany, the Keio Medical Science Prize in Japan, and the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award in Italy-USA. He has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2003 and a member of the National Academy of Medicine since 2016.

On June 22, 2023 EpiAxis Therapeutics reported the nomination of epiresatide as its lead candidate for IND advancement (Press release, EpiAxis Therapeutics, JUN 22, 2023, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=epiaxis-nominates-ep-132-0-as-lead-candidate-for-ind-advancement [SID1234633038]).

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Epiresatide is a generation 2.1 stapled peptide specifically targeting nuclear LSD1, which offers a novel mode of action.

Designed to address the challenge of treatment resistance and prevention of cancer recurrence in numerous haematological and solid tumours, epiresatide has demonstrated superior biological performance in modulating LSD1 demethylase activities, coupled with an excellent pre-clinical safety and tolerability profile.

EpiAxis CEO Dr Jeremy Chrisp said the company is planning to move forward with the clinical development of its lead candidate, epiresatide, marking a significant milestone in its progress,

"This is a pivotal valuation inflection point for shareholders and provides momentum for EpiAxis’ fundraising and partnering activities," Dr Chrisp said.

"Currently, EpiAxis is actively seeking collaborations and investment opportunities to accelerate the development and commercialisation of epiresatide, cementing its position at the forefront of the biotechnology industry."

EpiAxis remains dedicated to transforming the lives of cancer patients and meeting the urgent need for more effective treatments. Future updates will be provided on the progress of epiresatide as the company progresses this ground-breaking therapeutic.

On June 22, 2023 Parthenon Therapeutics, a precision oncology company discovering and developing a novel class of therapies that reprogram the tumor microenvironment (TME), reported that the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) has published results from a collaboration between Parthenon Therapeutics, The University of Texas Health Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) and George Washington University, demonstrating that PRTH-101 potently inhibits the adhesion of collagen receptor discoid in domain receptor-1 (DDR1)-expressing cancer cells to collagen substrates and DDR1 autophosphorylation induced by collagen (Press release, Parthenon Therapeutics, JUN 22, 2023, View Source [SID1234632864]).

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The article entitled, "A highly selective humanized DDR1 mAb reverses immune exclusion by disrupting collagen fiber alignment in breast cancer," describes the humanization of PRTH-101 and the mechanism by which the drug candidate binds to its target to inhibit DDR1. The publication is now available online on the JITC website.

Key Publication Highlights

Structural studies, including a PRTH-101/DDR1 co-crystal structure, identified the PRTH-101 epitope on DDR1
Culturing DDR1-expressing human cancer cells with PRTH-101 inhibited DDR1 autophosphorylation induced by collagen and the shedding of DDR1 fragments from the cell surface
PRTH-101 demonstrated the ability to potently inhibit the adhesion of DDR1-expressing cancer cells to collagen substrates, disrupting the physical barrier formed by aligned collagen fibers in tumors
The ability of PRTH-101 to inhibit functions of the extracellular component of DDR1 differentiates PRTH-101 from DDR1 kinase inhibitors
"Our collaboration with UTHealth Houston and George Washington University has yielded great insight into the capabilities of PRTH-101 as well as demonstrated the role of DDR1 in promoting immune exclusion in cancers," said J. Paul Eder, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Parthenon Therapeutics. "This study reinforces the development of PRTH-101 as a cancer therapeutic, and also sheds light on a new therapeutic strategy to modulate collagen alignment in the tumor ECM for enhancing antitumor immunity."

Parthenon recently initiated a Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial for its lead candidate PRTH-101 in patients with advanced solid tumors (NCT05753722).

About PRTH-101

PRTH-101 is a therapeutic antibody that specifically binds to and blocks DDR1, a protein expressed on tumor cells that binds collagen to make a minimally permeable physical barrier blocking immune cells from interacting with and attacking tumor cells. Thus, these "immune cell-excluded" solid tumors are resistant to attack by the immune system (as well as other existing therapies). By disabling DDR1, the collagen fibers lose alignment and loosen, creating gaps in the tumor barrier, thus allowing T cells to enter and attack the tumor. The creation of DDR1-directed collagen alignment does not appear to have a normal physiological surrogate and may therefore be unique to pathologies such as neoplasia, potentially allowing for relatively safe interventions. Thus, blockade of DDR1 represents a unique and "orthogonal" approach to stimulating the immune-based antitumor activity, and such blockade shows both single agent anti-tumor activity as well as marked augmentation of immunity enhanced by PD-1 blockade.

Tumor types which show particularly high levels of DDR1-associated collagen barriers include colorectal, ovarian, and non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, there are no approved drugs that target DDR1.

On June 22, 2023 Palleon Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage company pioneering glyco-immunology drug development to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases, reported that the first patient has been dosed in the combination therapy cohort of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for E-602, its lead candidate from the EAGLE (Enzyme Antibody Glyco-Ligand Editing) oncology platform (Press release, Palleon Pharmaceuticals, JUN 22, 2023, View Source [SID1234632863]). The GLIMMER-01 (Glycan-Mediated Immune Regulation) trial is designed to study E-602 as a monotherapy and in combination with cemiplimab (anti-PD-1) in patients with advanced cancers.

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"With E-602, we are investigating an entirely new approach to oncology, one that we feel has potential benefits both as a monotherapy and in combination with other anti-cancer agents," said Jim Broderick, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Palleon. "We are pleased to work with Regeneron to evaluate E-602 in combination with cemiplimab. We expect this trial to provide valuable information as we look to understand the benefits that targeting sialoglycans can bring to advancing the field of oncology and ultimately improving the outlook for patients."

E-602 is a first-in-class glyco-immune checkpoint inhibitor developed by Palleon and designed to enzymatically degrade immunosuppressive cell-surface sugars on tumors and immune cells. GLIMMER-01 is an open-label, single-arm, dose-escalation, and dose-expansion study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, and antitumor activity of E-602. Regeneron is providing cemiplimab for the trial as part of a clinical supply agreement initiated earlier this year.

Palleon recently announced Phase 1 results from the GLIMMER-01 trial of E-602 as a monotherapy at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2023 in Orlando, Florida. The study demonstrated proof of mechanism for E-602, including dose dependent desialylation and dose dependent immune system activation. Additionally, E-602 was found to be well tolerated across the entire dose range evaluated with no dose limiting toxicities.

On June 22, 2023 Aptorum Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) ("Aptorum Group" or "Aptorum"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on novel technologies including the targeting of oncological diseases, reported that the group has submitted the relevant Phase 1b/2a clinical trial protocol of SACT-1, an orally administered repurposed small molecule drug for the treatment of neuroblastoma to US FDA (Press release, Aptorum, JUN 22, 2023, View Source [SID1234632862]). The Phase 1b/2a study of SACT-1 submitted is for the combination with chemotherapy for first relapse or refractory high risk neuroblastoma.

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Mr. Darren Lui, Chief Executive Officer of Aptorum Group, commented, "Pursuant to an IND opened in September 2021, we have recently submitted a clinical protocol for a Phase 1b/2a trial of SACT-1 (in combination with chemotherapy) to the US FDA and no further comments have been received from the agency in the past 30 days. As a result, we are ready to advance the relevant Phase 1b/2a trials for SACT-1 in neuroblastoma patients subject to patient recruitment.

This Phase 1b/2a trial represents another key milestone for the company and one of the targeted strategic goals for the year of 2023. Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor arising in the nervous system outside of the brain predominantly in pediatric patients. The clinical behavior of neuroblastoma is highly variable with majority cases being highly aggressive. SACT-1 has the potential to effectively target this disease and address the unmet demands of such."

The targeted objectives of the Phase 1b part of the study based on neuroblastoma patients to be enrolled is to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) based on safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy and the Phase 2a part of the study based on neuroblastoma patients to be enrolled will be used to assess the preliminary efficacy of SACT-1. We will work closely with the regulatory agency in our journey towards the approval of our drug.

About SACT-1

SACT-1 is an orally administered repurposed small molecule drug to target neuroblastoma. SACT-1’s mechanism has been investigated in our preclinical studies to enhance tumor cell death and suppress MYCN expression (a common clinical diagnosis in high-risk or relapsed neuroblastoma patients where an amplification of MYCN is usually observed). SACT-1 is designed to be used especially in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy.