A new antibody design for induced agonism

Antibody-based immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of several cancers, yet there remains a pressing need for next-generation approaches that more effectively stimulate the immune system to eliminate tumors. Although direct tumor targeting and checkpoint blockade have achieved clinical success, the development of agonist antibodies that mimic costimulatory ligands has been challenging. First-generation agonist antibodies have yielded disappointing clinical results and are therefore far from optimal. In this project, we pursued a novel strategy to engineer agonistic activity into antibodies and obtained highly favorable preclinical results that demonstrate the approach’s viability. These encouraging findings support further investigation to establish robust proof-of-concept, secure intellectual property, and develop a commercialization strategy.

KVAL-prosjektet har gitt avklarende resultater som viser at at den innovative strategien gir ønsket effekt. Derav er målsettingen med prosjektet oppnådd. Basert på genererte data ble en DOFI utformet og sendt til TTO, som resulterte i at prosjektet nå er aktivert. Det er nå en pågående prosess hvor en plan for videre forsøk og avklaringer er lagt for å sikre en solid patentsøknad når tiden er inne.