Rubius Therapeutics Highlights Preclinical Data for RTX-321, a Red Cell Therapeutic™ Oncology Product Candidate for HPV-Pos...
May 12 2020 - 6:00AM
Rubius Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:RUBY), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company that is genetically engineering red blood
cells to create an entirely new class of cellular medicines, today
presented preclinical data supporting its lead artificial
antigen-presenting cell (aAPC) program, RTX-321, for the potential
treatment of HPV 16-positive tumors at the American Society of Gene
and Cell Therapy 23rd Annual Meeting. The meeting is being held
virtually from May 12 – 15, 2020.
“Today, we presented preclinical in vitro data supporting the
development of RTX-321 for the treatment of HPV 16-positive tumors
by demonstrating that we can expand the different cell populations
- effector and long-lived memory CD8+ cells - that are critical for
delivering and maintaining long-term, anti-tumor responses in
patients,” said Laurence Turka, M.D., chief scientific officer of
Rubius Therapeutics. “Additionally, we presented data showing that
our aAPC platform can expand both naïve and exhausted CD4+ T cells.
CD4+ T cells help coordinate an immune response by stimulating
other immune cells to fight cancer. By enhancing the
expansion, persistence and functionality of both naïve and
exhausted CD4+ T cells, we may be able to harness the full
complement of tumor-specific CD4+ T cells to achieve durable
responses in patients with HPV 16-positive cancers. We plan to file
an Investigational New Drug application for RTX-321 by the end of
2020.”
Data Summaries
An Engineered Allogeneic Artificial Antigen Presenting
Red Cell Therapeutic, RTX-321, for HPV16+ Associated Cancers
Promotes Antigen-Specific T Cell Activation &
Expansion (Poster #321)RTX-321 is an
allogeneic aAPC therapy product candidate that is engineered to
induce a tumor-specific immune response by expanding
antigen-specific T cells. RTX-321 expresses an HPV peptide antigen
bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, 4-1BBL, a
co-stimulatory signal, and IL-12, a cytokine, on the cell surface
to mimic human T cell-APC interactions.
- Presentation of an HPV peptide bound to MHC I engages the T
cell receptor and initiates T-cell signaling and early activation
on HPV antigen-specific cells
- RTX-321 induces activation determined by upregulation of 4-1BB,
CD25, and PD-1 expression
- All three signals (an HPV peptide antigen bound to MHC I,
4-1BBL and IL-12) are required for robust expansion, effector
memory phenotype, and effector molecule production of HPV
antigen-specific cells
- RTX-321 induces T-cell mediated responses in an
antigen-specific manner in vitro
Engineered Red-Cell Therapeutics (RCT) as Artificial
Antigen Presenting Cells Promote In Vitro Expansion of Both Naïve
and Exhausted CD4+ T Cells(Poster
#1149)Red Cell Therapeutic (RCT) aAPCs were engineered to
express an OVA peptide bound to MHC class II, 4-1BBL and IL-12 to
mimic and amplify normal antigen-presenting cell-T cell
interactions to drive both the quantity and quality of
antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses.
- RCT MHC II aAPC (RCT-1-Ab-OVA-CD80) with IL-7 or IL-12 expands
both naïve and exhausted I-Ab-OVA-specific OT-2 mouse CD4+ T
cells
- Co-incubation of OT-2 cells with RCT-I-Ab-OVA-CD80 and
RCT-IL-12 drives memory formation and Th1 polarization for both
naïve and exhausted OT-2 cells
- Co-incubation of OT-2 cells with RCT-I-Ab-OVA-CD80 and RCT-IL-7
results in additive effects on expansion and memory formation of
exhausted OT-2 cells
- Taken together, these results demonstrate the potential for an
MHC Class II-specific aAPC platform to enhance the expansion,
persistence and functionality of both naïve and exhausted CD4+ T
cells in vitro
About Rubius TherapeuticsRubius Therapeutics is
a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class
of medicines called Red Cell Therapeutics™. The Company’s
proprietary RED PLATFORM® was designed to genetically engineer and
culture Red Cell Therapeutics™ that are selective, potent and
off-the-shelf allogeneic cellular therapies for the potential
treatment of several diseases across multiple therapeutic areas.
Rubius’ initial focus is to advance RCT™ product candidates for the
treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases by leveraging two
distinct therapeutic modalities — potent cell-cell interaction and
tolerance induction. For more information, visit www.rubiustx.com,
follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn or like us on Facebook.
Forward Looking Statements This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended,
including, without limitation, statements regarding the, our
expectations regarding the therapeutic potential of our Red Cell
Therapeutics, including RTX-321 for the treatment of HPV
16-positive tumors, the timelines for us to file an IND for
RTX-321, and our strategy, business plans and focus. The words
“may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,”
“project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs
and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important
factors that may cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release, including, without
limitation, those risks and uncertainties related to the
development of our Red Cell Therapeutic product candidates and
their therapeutic potential and other risks identified in our SEC
filings, including our on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2020, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We caution you not to
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date they are made. We disclaim any obligation to
publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change
in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which
any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood
that actual results will differ from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release represent our views only as of the
date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views
as of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
Contact:Lori Melançon, Vice President,
Corporate Communications and Investor Relations+1 (617)
949-5296lori.melancon@rubiustx.com
Media Contact: Dan Budwick, 1AB+1 (973)
271-6085dan@1abmedia.com
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