Streetbeat News

Regulatory

XNCR

Xencor has presented preclinical data from multiple XmAb research programs at the SITC Annual Meeting. The company is conducting a Phase 1 study of XmAb808 in patients with advanced solid tumors. Xencor also engineered stabilized, potency-modulated IL-18 cytokines fused to an XmAb heterodimeric Fc domain with Xtend™ Fc technology for longer half-life (IL18-Fc). Further, Xencor's XmAb natural killer cell engagers (NKEs) are multifunctional antibodies that target multiple activating receptors on the surface of NK cells and bind to tumor-associated antigens.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:09 pm

INKT

MiNK Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:INKT) presented new data on its agenT-797 therapy for solid tumor cancers at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's annual meeting. The therapy showed clinical responses and long-term persistence without toxic pre-conditioning. AgenT-797 is advancing in a randomized phase 2 trial in 2L gastric cancer. The company also plans to launch a randomized phase 2 trial in 2L gastric cancer by the end of 2023.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:08 pm

SPY

VGK

The US State Department has announced a new weapons package for Ukraine, which will provide up to $125 million of arms and equipment. This move is expected to have geopolitical implications.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:08 pm

AFMD

Affimed presented preclinical data at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, showing that the addition of its innate cell engager (ICE) improves the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) and CAR-NK cells. The use of ICE with NK cells eliminates the need for complex and costly manufacturing compared to CAR-NK cells, and offers flexibility to be used with NK cells from different sources.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:06 pm

ALLO

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO) presented data on its next generation Cloak and Dagger technologies at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting. These technologies are designed to enhance the performance of AlloCAR T cell candidates and control immune rejection. The Cloak technology prevents AlloCAR T cells from being recognized by host T cells, while the Dagger technology arms AlloCAR T cells with a CD70 CAR designed to recognize and deplete CD70-positive host immune cells. The Dagger technology is a feature of ALLO-316, currently being investigated in a Phase 1 study for solid tumors.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:06 pm

ALLO

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO) presented preclinical data on a novel AlloCAR T product candidate targeting Claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2)-positive gastric and pancreatic tumors at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting. The data suggests the potential to provide clinical benefit to patients with a single, off-the-shelf infusion. The preclinical evaluation identified candidates with potent activity in both short-term and repeat stimulation in vitro cytotoxicity assays. ALLO-182, currently in the IND-enabling phase of development, is based on these data.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:05 pm

CADL

Candel Therapeutics announced positive interim data from a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of CAN-2409 in non-metastatic pancreatic cancer. The data showed notable improvements in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenorcarcinoma (PDAC) after treatment with CAN-2409. The overall survival rate was 71.4% at 36 months in CAN-2409 treated patients versus 16.7% in the control arm. Safety analysis demonstrated that multiple injections of CAN-2409 were generally well tolerated.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:04 pm

CUE

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) has presented positive data from its Phase 1 trials of CUE-101 and CUE-102 at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 38th Anniversary Annual Meeting. The trials showed promising results in treating head and neck cancer and Wilms' Tumor 1 positive cancers. The company reported an overall response rate of 47% and disease control rate of 65% in patients treated with CUE-101 and KEYTRUDA. The median overall survival of patients treated with CUE-101 monotherapy was 20.8 months, significantly higher than the historical average of eight months. CUE-102 also showed promising results with a disease control rate of 75%-80% at the 4mg/kg and 2mg/kg doses.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 4:04 pm

AZN

AstraZeneca's combination of zibotentan and dapagliflozin has shown significant albuminuria reduction in patients with chronic kidney disease and proteinuria in the ZENITH-CKD Phase IIb trial. The results were presented at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2023 and simultaneously published in The Lancet. The combination showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) at 12 weeks compared with dapagliflozin alone. AstraZeneca plans to start Phase III trials in Q4 2023.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 3:34 pm

CMPS

CYBN

DRUG

ENVB

MNMD

SEEL

A California campaign has withdrawn its proposed ballot initiative to create a $5 billion state agency for funding and promoting psychedelics research. The decision was influenced by recent polling showing 60% of likely California voters oppose state funding for psychedelic therapies. The campaign has announced the launch of a new TREAT Humanity campaign to explore mental health solutions more broadly. The proposed psychedelics institute would have identified opportunities for advancing scientific research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and facilitated the creation of 'care programs' for psilocybin and MDMA once approved for therapeutic use by the FDA.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 03, 2023 | 3:29 pm