On March 28, 2023 Morphogenesis Inc., a Phase 3 clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel personalized cancer vaccines, reported that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement, in a stock for stock transaction, to acquire TυHURA’s novel ADCs targeting MDSCs to modulate tumor microenvironment immunosuppression (Press release, Morphogenesis, MAR 28, 2023, View Source [SID1234637063]). The technologies were developed by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, West Virginia Research Corporation and TυHURA. Through this acquisition, Morphogenesis now has exclusive worldwide license rights to TυHURA’s patents and patented technologies related to the ADC platform.
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"Tumor-associated MDSCs are a major obstacle to immunotherapy, being responsible for acquired resistance to checkpoint inhibitors, and contribute to T cell and NK cell exhaustion, preventing cellular therapies from being more effective in attacking cancer. TυHURA’s technology represents a new paradigm. Unlike conventional ADCs where an antibody is used as a targeting agent and a cellular toxin is the payload, TuHURA’s ADCs are bi-functional, where a small molecule inhibitor of MDSC function is the targeting agent, and an immune effector like a checkpoint inhibitor is the payload. These bi-functional ADCs block MDSC’s immune suppressing effects, while localizing an immune effector in the tumor microenvironment. Through this technology represents a promising new approach to overcoming resistance to cancer immunotherapy," commented James A. Bianco, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Morphogenesis. "We believe through this strategic acquisition, TυHURA’s novel technology will be complementary to our IFx personalized cancer vaccine technology in addressing obstacles to overcoming resistance to immunotherapies."
"TυHURA and Moffitt researchers are the first to identify a novel Delta receptor on MDSCs that controls many of MDSC immune suppressing functions, representing a major advance in the ability to increase a tumor’s susceptibility to immune attack, with the promise of increasing the effectiveness and safety profile of immunotherapy," added Alan F. List, M.D., former President and CEO of Moffitt Cancer Center, a noted expert on the central role of MDSCs contribution to tumorigenesis and resistance to immunotherapy, and member of the independent committee of the Morphogenesis Board of Director’s who evaluated and negotiated the TυHURA asset purchase.
"Modulating the tumor microenvironment is an area of intense research and development among large pharmaceutical companies given its importance in preventing the effective use of immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors. This acquisition not only provides Morphogenesis a truly novel approach to block MDSC induced immunosuppression, but also significantly de-risks and bolsters our development pipeline. We look forward to further elucidating the unique characteristics of the Delta receptor and advancing a new generation of bi-functional ADCs toward first-in-human clinical trials," concluded Dr. Bianco.