Main Conference Day 1 - European Time GMT+1
Tetraspanins are a superfamily of four-transmembrane proteins that serve as key organizers of membrane proteins and signaling complexes, playing essential roles in immune cell function. I will share our latest insights into the functions of the tetraspanins CD37 and CD20 in lymphocytes and B cell lymphoma. I will also introduce a novel immunotherapeutic platform that targets CD37 and CD20, demonstrating superior efficacy compared to current standard-of-care antibody therapies
- Annemiek van Spriel, PhD - Professor of Experimental Immunology, Radboud University Medical Center
- Paul Carter, PhD - Genentech Fellow, Antibody Engineering, Genentech
- Peter Senter, PhD - Co-Founder and CSO, Atida Bio
- Gail Lewis, PhD - Distinguished Scientist, Discovery Oncology, Genentech
Standard bioassays often fail to capture the complexity of immune modulating biologics. This presentation examines the use of context specific in vitro models for T cell engagers in oncology and autoimmune therapies. Through representative case studies, we demonstrate how tailored assays including T cell activation, cytokine release, and target specific inhibition provide robust insights into drug potency, specificity, and mechanism of action, supporting more informed, data driven decision making in biologic development.
- Rachel Wang, PhD - Associate Director (SME), CRO Services, WuXi Biologics
Developed by the team behind Sc2.0’s synthetic yeast genome, neoSwitch is a yeast strain that flips between surface display and secretion with a simple media change—eliminating antibody reformatting and host switching. Neo offers high-diversity naïve VHH and scFv libraries (>10^9) for rapid, first-pass discovery, and we routinely design, build, and transform custom libraries for partners. Paired with the Opentrons Flex, neoSwitch enables turnkey, automatable workflows—including protein purification—to accelerate hit-to-lead.
- Christian Klein, PhD - Chief Scientific Officer, Biotech Start-Up
- Ulrike Philippar, PhD - Senior Director Oncology, Global Head of Discovery Hematological Malignancies, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Bispecific T cell engagers (TcEs) must create an effective immunological synapse, yet how their structural features control potency is poorly defined. We combined solution structural analyses and synapse imaging on supported lipid bilayers to show that both intermembrane distance and complex rigidity critically determine TcE activity. Formats producing close contacts and reduced molecular flexibility enhanced co-stimulatory interactions and cytotoxic responses. These findings provide actionable design principles for next-generation TcE therapeutics.
- Alexander Leithner, Ph.D - Assistant Professor, University of Salzburg
- Kevin Parker, Ph.D - CEO, Cartography Biosciences
- Ulrike Philippar, PhD - Senior Director Oncology, Global Head of Discovery Hematological Malignancies, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
- Anette Sommer, PhD - Head of R&D, Synaffix BV
- Greg Thurber, PhD - Professor, Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan
Conditional logic-gated bispecific ADCs can be optimised to enable precise tumour targeting while delivering deeper and broader efficacy by integrating dual-antigen recognition. This approach enhances potency, mitigates on-target/off-tumour toxicities, and addresses intratumoural heterogeneity. The talk will highlight engineering principles, preclinical validation, and translational insights advancing this next-generation ADC modality.
- Tiffany Thorn - Founder and CEO, BiVictriX Therapeutics
- Barbara Pistilli - Medical Oncologist & Chair Breast Cancer Unit, Gustave Roussy
T cell engagers are highly potent immunotherapeutic modalities. However, their broad application is constrained by on-target, off-tumor toxicity and CRS, resulting in a narrow therapeutic index. We present the development of a conditional, dual-antigen targeting trispecific TCE (TriMab) that integrates a synapse-gated design with affinity-tuned binding arms to achieve AND-gated tumor selectivity. Our work establishes synapse-gated, dual-targeting trispecifics as a next-generation framework for engineering safer and more precise T-cell therapeutics
- Yariv Mazor, Ph.D - Executive Director and Head of Protein Engineering & Novel Modalities, AstraZeneca
- Dimitris Skokos, PhD - Vice President, Cancer Immunology, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Our logic-gated CD3 Switch-DARPins are designed to overcome current limitations of T-cell engagers, such as the lack of clean targets and poor therapeutic windows. We developed a MSLNxEpCAM-targeted Switch-DARPin that contains CD2 costimulation and a masked CD3 moiety that is released to activate T cells only when both TAAs are co-expressed on target cells. This format allows for increased tumor specificity via rational selection of tumor target combinations.
- Alexander Link - Senior Director of Immune-Oncology Research, Molecular Partners
To address critical challenges in ADC discovery, such as elucidating mechanisms of resistance and systematically identifying synergistic payload combinations, Turbine integrates transcriptomic, genomic, and protein–protein interaction data into computational “virtual cell” models. These models are trained on perturbation-response profiles to accurately recapitulate cellular behavior. In this presentation, we highlight the application of our virtual-cell–based screening framework for prioritizing synergistic payload partners, complemented by automated in vitro validation and mechanistic simulations that enable detailed interrogation of resistance pathways.
- Akos Tarcsay, PhD - Product Manager, Turbine
- George Badescu, PhD - Chief Business Officer, Heidelberg Pharma