On November 20, 2015 Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADRO), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, reported the presentation of an overview of novel antibody and combination strategies designed to stimulate durable anti-tumor response at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Symposium on Immuno-Oncology 2015, taking place November 20-21, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland (Press release, Aduro BioTech, NOV 20, 2015, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2114366 [SID:1234508296]). The presentation was featured in a keynote lecture delivered at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) symposium by Andrea van Elsas, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Aduro Biotech Europe, titled, "Immunomodulatory Antibodies Beyond PD-1."
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The presentation focused on advancements in the field of immuno-oncology involving combination antibody approaches targeting T cells (e.g. CD27 agonists), the tumor-immune interfaces (e.g. CD47 – SIRP(alpha) axis), dendritic cells and macrophages and bispecific antibodies. Dr. van Elsas also discussed promising early work with new agonists such as cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs).
"Recent advances in immunotherapy are bringing about a new era of cancer medicine and revolutionizing the development of novel treatments across a broad range of cancer types," said Dr. van Elsas. "Checkpoint inhibitors have clearly demonstrated clinical benefit as single agent therapy in some patient populations, but emerging data suggests combination therapy may be required to extend this benefit to a majority of patients. At Aduro, our focus is on advancing multiple therapeutic approaches that have the potential to yield powerful immunotherapy combinations."
During the presentation, Dr. van Elsas summarized the three diverse immunotherapy platforms that Aduro focuses on that aim to disrupt the tumor microenvironment and harness patients’ immune systems to fight multiple cancer targets:
– LADD (live, attenuated, double-deleted Listeria mononcytogenes) involving bacteria-based mobilization of the immune system
– CDNs targeting small molecule activation of the Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) receptor leading to T cell priming specific for tumor neoantigens
– B-select technology targeting first or best-in-class agonist and antagonist monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)
Additionally, key topics that were highlighted in the presentation included:
– Preclinical data demonstrating potent anti-tumor activity of ADU-S100, a proprietary molecule based on Aduro’s CDN platform technology
– ADU-S100’s ability to induce innate immunity through STING, a critical receptor to activate immune cells including dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment
– The formulation of ADU-S100 with GVAX into the cancer vaccine – "STINGVAX" – that was shown to be active in anti-PD1 resistant tumors. GVAX is a family of cancer immunotherapies acquired by Aduro in 2013
– Research demonstrating mode-of-action of CD27 agonistic antibodies
– Research demonstrating how antibodies that block CD47 – SIRP(alpha) interaction to enhance tumor killing and rejection as well as elicit functional cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL)
Aduro believes this research underscores the critical importance of not only overcoming immune suppression, but also activating and stimulating the immune system using Aduro’s CDN approach targeting the STING receptor and Aduro’s LADD-based immunotherapies.