Main Conference Day 3 - BST (British Summer Time, GMT+1)
- Jonathan Sockolosky, PhD - Senior Director, CSO Partner Team, Curie.Bio
- Karen Silence, PhD - Head Preclinical Product Development, Argenx
This presentation highlights the development of ARGX-117, a recycling anti-C2 antibody designed to inhibit complement activation. We trace its journey from laboratory innovation to phase 2 proof-of-concept studies, showcasing its potential as a therapeutic strategy for multifocal motor neuropathy patients.
- Daniëlle Krijgsman, PhD - Assistant Professor, UMC Utrecht
To date, over 150 drugs have been approved by the FDA for treating or preventing autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. Despite this comprehensive arsenal of therapies, there remains a significant unmet medical need for many patient groups. Elasmogen has designed a first-in-class soloMER drug conjugate tailor-made for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This innovative treatment utilizes a super-potent, novel-acting multivalent anti-TNFα soloMER to site-deliver an anti-inflammatory JAK inhibitor payload, Tofacitinib.
- Obinna Ubah, PhD - Principal Scientist and Future Leaders Fellow, Elasmogen Limited
Immunocore has developed ImmTAAI, a new class of bispecific protein therapeutic designed to deliver targeted immunomodulation to treat autoimmune diseases. The effector domain comprises an agonistic anti-PD-1 VHH, which is biologically active only when target-bound and does not compete with natural ligand (PD-L1/L2), providing a wide therapeutic index. Using this targeted approach we have developed a novel bispecific molecule which specifically targets pancreatic beta cells to potentially treat type 1 diabetes.
- Tara Mahon, PhD - Associate Director, Research - Protein Science Pip, Immunocore
- Sally Ward, PhD - Professor and Director, University of Southampton
- Jan Terje Andersen, Ph.D. - Professor, University of Oslo and Group Leader, Oslo University Hospital
- Rony Dahan, PhD - Principal Investigator, Weizmann Institute of Science
DuoBody®-EpCAMx4-1BB (BNT314/GEN1059) is an investigational Fc-silenced bispecific antibody (bsAb) designed to boost antitumor immune responses through EpCAM-dependent 4-1BB agonist activity. EpCAMx4-1BB bispecific enhanced T cell proliferation, activation and cytotoxic capacity of activated T cells in vitro and exhibited antitumor activity in vivo. Moreover, combining EpCAMx4-1BB with PD-1/PD-L1 axis blockade potentiated all these responses. These data provide preclinical rationale for the clinical evaluation of DuoBody-EpCAMx4-1BB.
- Andreea Ioan-Facsinay, PhD - Director, Genmab
- Stefan Weise, PhD - Postdoctoral Scientist, Roche Diagnostics GmbH
Stellabody® is a single point mutation in the CH3 region that facilitates “on-target assembly” of immune biologics that transforms killing or agonistic potency in multiple immune protein formats i.e. mAbs, bispecific antibodies, Fc-fusions and novel scaffolds. Stellabody biologics mediate greatly (10-100x) enhanced potency in head-to-head comparisons with the equivalent standard biologic including standard-of-care mAbs in oncology on primary patient-derived clinical samples and targets in infection and immunology.
- Mark Hogarth, PhD - Professor and Burnet Senior Principal Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
Multivalent interactions enable complex molecular recognition and signaling processes, such as the initiation of the classical complement pathway (CCP). This presentation gives an overview on how the CCP is initiated through antigen-dependent oligomerization of IgGs and subsequent recognition and activation of the multivalent zymogen C1. The presented kinetic model may serve as a basis for optimizing antibody-engineering and PK/PD modelling.
- Johannes Preiner, PhD - Research Group Leader, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
- Sean McClain - Chief Technology Officer, Absci LLC
- Katherine Harris, PhD - Chief Development Officer, Rondo Therapeutics
- Christian Klein, PhD - CXO in Residence & Drug Hunter, Curie.Bio
T cell-engaging (TCE) multispecific antibodies demonstrate great clinical efficacy, though their molecular complexity is a challenge for drug manufacturability, developability, and obtaining desirable PK/PD properties. Here, we showcase the discovery and engineering of novel anti-CD3 heavy chain-only antibodies (HCAbs), which demonstrate T cell cytotoxicity comparable to clinically validated TCEs when paired with IgG or TCR modalities. This work introduces a flexible new tool for enabling this important class of biologics.
- Eric Krauland, PhD - President and Chief Scientific Officer, Adimab
SAIL66, a next-generation tri-specific T-cell engager targeting CLDN6, CD3, and CD137, was developed using proprietary Dual-Ig® technology. Dual-Ig® enables unique ability to CD3 and CD137, but not simultaneously. SAIL66 demonstrates remarkable selectivity, avoiding cross-reactivity with related CLDN family. In vitro and in vivo studies reveal SAIL66's superior T cell activation and enhanced anti-tumor efficacy compared to conventional TCEs.
- Taichi Kuramochi - Head of Biologics Discovery Department, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
- Mario Perro, PhD - Head of Biologics Research & Site Head, SVP, Ichnos Glenmark Innovation
- Anne Goubier - SVP Research and Early Development, Molecular Partners AG
We present two case studies of how antibody-cytokine fusions can be engineered to modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME), inhibit tumor growth and affect the efficacy of cancer treatments. To attenuate the potency of cytokine antibody fusions, combination strategies using cytokine muteins in conjunction with functional masking units were employed. Localization and conditional activation of cytokine activity in the TME resulted in efficient tumor cell killing.
- Harald Kolmar, PhD - Professor and Head of Applied Biochemistry, TU Darmstadt
- Justin Killebrew, PhD - Vice President of Biology, Bonum Therapeutics