On December 27, 2020 ONK Therapeutics Ltd, an innovative natural killer (NK) cell therapy company, reported that it has secured three new exclusive option license agreements which strengthen its off-the-shelf, dual-targeted natural killer (NK) cell therapy platform and extend its pre-clinical pipeline to four programs across both hematological and solid tumors (Press release, ONK Therapeutics, DEC 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234572992]).
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The first option agreement, with Cellerant Therapeutics, gives exclusive rights to a humanized CLEC12A scFv binder. CLEC12A is strongly expressed by blasts in the majority of AML patients. The option to license has enabled ONK to expand its pre-clinical product portfolio, launching a fourth program (ONKT104). This dual-targeted approach combines the CLEC12A CAR with a TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand variant (TRAILv) targeting death receptor 4 (DR4).
"While expressed on leukemic stem cells, CLEC12A is absent from normal hematopoietic stem cells and we thus expect that our dual-targeted NK cell therapy approach should enable safe targeting, with a reduced risk of prolonged aplasia in AML," said Prof Michael O’Dwyer MD, ONK Therapeutics’ co-founder, and CSO.
The second agreement in-licenses a humanized, tumor-specific antibody targeting an aberrantly glycosylated tumor-associated form of MUC1 (TA-MUC1) from Glycotope GmbH. Multiple solid tumor types express the mucin MUC1, including non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. This antibody will be integrated into ONK’s pre-clinical program ONKT103, for solid tumors.
Non-selective targeting of MUC1 could be problematic since the target is also expressed by healthy tissues, but O’Dwyer explains how ONK’s dual-targeted approach can be used to address this. "We have designed a CAR tailored to the glycosylation pattern distinct to tumor-associated MUC1 with specific recognition of the carbohydrate antigens Tn and T on MUC1, the expression of which is restricted to cancer cells. Glycotope has identified the glycosylation pattern as a way to unlock the potential of TA-MUC1 as a solid tumor target. ONK is thus set to bring the natural benefits of NK cells over T cells to bear on TA-MUC1, in a tumor-specific fashion, while also further boosting efficacy and countering resistance through the use of our TRAIL variant targeting DR5," he said.
ONK’s unique platform approach combines the expression of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and a high affinity, membrane-bound TRAILv. The incorporation of these two humanized scFvs has the potential to minimize the risk of immunogenicity in the allogeneic setting.
ONK is also exploring several innovative strategies to improve the homing of NK cells. This is an important consideration as ex-vivo expansion can lead to changes in chemokine receptor expression. Through this new license agreement with the NIH, ONK plans to enforce the expression of CCR7, which is downregulated on NK cell expansion. This may improve the homing of NK cells to lymph nodes and is expected to be particularly useful for ONK’s off-the-shelf CD19 program targeting B cell lymphoma, ONKT101, which is partnered with Avectas.
ONK is making rapid progress since it announced its most recent financing in October. Chris Nowers, ex Kite Pharma Head of Europe, who joined at that time as Chief Executive Officer, said: "The recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) meeting highlighted the NK cell therapy area as offering great hope as the next generation of advanced cell therapies. We believe our best-in-class off-the-shelf, dual-targeted NK cell therapy platform has the potential to improve performance and overcome some of the shortcomings seen with earlier approaches. These new licensing activities strengthen and expand our programs and illustrate our ambition and strategy to become a leader in this exciting field."
The company recently expanded its operations into the USA, moving into JLABS @ San Diego, Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s flagship facility, at the heart of San Diego’s precision medicine and cell therapy cluster. This represents a second facility that complements its main R&D team and operations in Galway, Ireland. The company’s recruitment drive across both facilities has been rapid and the company continues to expand its capability in key areas, including NK cell biology, construct design, gene editing, and process development.