– IMM20059, Immunome’s epsin 1 (EPN1)-specific antibody, binds to the surface of multiple tumor cell lines, including lung, breast and prostate cancers in preclinical testing –
– EPN1 appears to play an important role in cancer formation and progression, and IMM20059 may have the ability to improve response to immunotherapy –
– Combinatorial effect (> 50% reduction in tumor volume) was demonstrated with IMM20059 and anti-PD-L1 treatment atezolizumab –
EXTON, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Immunome, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its human memory B cell platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics, today announced that it is presenting a poster at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 37th Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts highlighting the Company’s preclinical data of IMM20059, a novel anti-epsin 1(EPN1) antibody.
“We continue to be pleased with the robust capabilities of our Discovery Engine to identify novel anti-tumor targets, including those that are abnormally (ectopically) expressed on tumor cells which have the potential to fundamentally shift treatment paradigms,” commented Purnanand Sarma, PhD, President and CEO of Immunome. “While further preclinical work will be required, we are quite encouraged by the results presented at SITC today. Treatment with the IMM20059 + atezolizumab combination resulted in over a 50% reduction in tumor volume (p<0.05) compared to isotype-treated control, greater than either one separately. This leads us to believe that there is a potential combinatorial effect between the two pathways, and we look forward to exploring this phenomena further in additional pre-clinical studies.”
Lack of response and immunoresistance to checkpoint inhibitors is a well-known challenge in cancer treatment. While the epsin-1 protein is known to be upregulated in a variety of tumor types, it can also be ectopically expressed on the tumor cell surface, as demonstrated in Immunome’s poster, offering a new approach to cancer therapy. Insights into the role of epsin-1 as a potential target for cancer is evolving, but research by others1 also suggests targeting EPN1 has the potential to inhibt tumor growth. The findings presented by Immunome at SITC further suggest that combining an EPN1-targeting antibody, like IMM20059, with checkpoint inhibitor treatment could reactivate or increase immune response to the tumor.
Immunome Poster at SITC Annual Meeting (November 8-12, 2022):
Title: IMM20059, a novel anti-EPN1 antibody, in combination with atezolizumab significantly enhances tumor regression in the B16.F10 syngeneic melanoma model compared to anti-PD-L1 monotherapy
Authors: Fang Shen, PhD, John P. Dowling, Pavel A. Nikitin, Cezary R. Swider, Chris Nicolescu, Halley Shukla, Jamie L. Bingaman-Steele, Nirja B. Patel, Eden L. Sikorski, Benjamin C. Harman, Jillian M. DiMuzio, Karen Lundgren, Yumi Ohtani, Michael J. Morin, Matthew K. Robinson
Link: https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/Suppl_2/A858
Date/Time: Nov. 10, 2022/9:00am
Poster/Abstract Number: 823
The poster presentation, IMM20059, a novel anti-EPN1 antibody, in combination with atezolizumab significantly enhances tumor regression in the B16.F10 syngeneic melanoma model compared to anti-PD-L1 monotherapy, highlights novel discoveries related to combinatorial activity between existing immune checkpoint inhibitors and the novel tumor target epsin 1 (EPN1).
Immunome’s preclinical research of IMM20059 in this poster demonstrated that:
- EPN1 is upregulated in multiple cancers and is ectopically expressed on tumor cell surfaces.
- IMM20059 binds with high affinity to both purified EPN1 protein and to the surface of B16.F10 melanoma tumor cells.
- In the combination treatment of IMM20059 and anti-PD-L1 atezolizumab, significant tumor regression was induced compared to IMM20059 or atezolizumab treatment alone, suggesting a combinatorial effect between the two anti-tumoral pathways.
- Combination treatment enhanced the production of intratumoral chemokines, MIP-1a, MIP-1b, and RANTES.
About SITC
Established in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is a nonprofit organization of medical professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development, science and application of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology. SITC is comprised of influential basic and translational scientists, practitioners, health care professionals, government leaders and industry professionals around the globe. Through educational initiatives that foster scientific exchange and collaboration among leaders in the field, SITC aims to one day make the word “cure” a reality for cancer patients everywhere. Learn more about SITC, our educational offerings and other resources at sitcancer.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
About Immunome
Immunome is a biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its proprietary human memory B cell platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics that are designed to change the way diseases are treated. The company’s initial focus is developing therapeutics to treat oncology and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Immunome’s proprietary discovery engine identifies novel therapeutic antibodies and their targets by leveraging the highly educated components of the immune system, memory B cells, from patients whose bodies have learned to fight off their disease. For more information, please visit www.immunome.com.
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References
- Dong, Y., et. al. (2015). Motif mimetic of epsin perturbs tumor growth and metastasis. J Clin Invest. 125(12):4349-4364. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI80349.
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