ALX Oncology and Tallac Therapeutics Announce Collaboration on Novel Class of Cancer Immunotherapeutics
March 04 2021 - 4:05PM
ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (“ALX Oncology”) (Nasdaq: ALXO), a
clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapies that
block the CD47 checkpoint pathway, and Tallac Therapeutics, Inc.
(“Tallac”), a privately held biopharmaceutical company harnessing
the power of innate and adaptive immunity to fight cancer, today
announced a collaboration to jointly develop, manufacture, and
commercialize a novel class of cancer immunotherapeutics. Under the
terms of the agreement, ALX Oncology and Tallac will share equally
in the cost of research and development and any profits or losses
incurred.
The collaboration builds on ALX Oncology’s expertise in
developing therapies that block the CD47 checkpoint pathway and
expands its immuno-oncology pipeline. The collaboration also
extends Tallac’s pipeline of next generation immunotherapies
derived from its novel Toll-like Receptor Agonist Antibody
Conjugate (“TRAAC”) platform. The companies will leverage their
respective scientific and technical expertise to advance an
anti-SIRPα antibody conjugated to a Toll-like receptor 9 (“TLR9”)
agonist for targeted activation of both the innate and adaptive
immune systems.
“We are excited to partner with ALX Oncology in the development
of next-generation breakthrough cancer immunotherapies,” said Hong
I. Wan, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of
Tallac. “TLR9 agonists are a class of immunotherapy that generate
both innate and adaptive immune responses which may produce robust
and durable anti-cancer immunity for patients with advanced-stage
cancers. While intratumoral TLR9 agonists have clinically validated
this pathway, systemic administration has been unsuccessful,
limiting clinical utility in broader patient populations. With
Tallac’s TRAAC technology, we now have a way to target this pathway
systemically, which could expand the clinical benefit to a much
broader patient population. To date, we have generated promising
preclinical data with multiple TRAAC molecules that demonstrates
the potential of this pathway. The goal of our collaboration with
ALX Oncology is to advance SIRPα TRAAC, a systemically delivered
TLR9 agonist targeting dendritic cells via SIRPα receptors,
enabling a powerful innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune
response.”
“Collaborating with Tallac and their novel TRAAC platform
broadens ALX Oncology’s therapeutic strategies to activate the
innate immune system and SIRPα TRAAC complements our lead product
candidate, ALX148,” said Jaume Pons, Ph.D., Founder, President and
Chief Executive Officer of ALX Oncology. “While ALX148 is an
antagonistic molecule designed to maximize the activity of a wide
array of anticancer agents by the blockade of the CD47 myeloid
checkpoint, SIRPα TRAAC is an agonistic molecule that directly
activates dendritic cells and enables a coordinated innate and
adaptive immune response against cancer. Since SIRPα is expressed
on both dendritic cells and a range of tumor types, SIRPα TRAAC may
enable an effective immune activation response in advanced cancer
settings. We are excited about this potentially transformative
approach and the possible benefits to patients that are in need of
new treatment options.”Conference Call on March 5 at
8:30 a.m. EST
ALX Oncology and Tallac will host a conference call on Friday,
March 5, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. EST to further discuss the
collaboration.
To access the conference call, please dial (844) 467-7655
(local) or (409) 983-9840 (international) at least 10 minutes prior
to the start time and refer to conference ID 4117088. Presentation
slides will be available to download under “News & Events” (see
“Events”) in the investors section of the ALX Oncology website
at www.alxoncology.com. About ALX
OncologyALX Oncology is a publicly traded, clinical-stage
immuno-oncology company focused on helping patients fight cancer by
developing therapies that block the CD47 checkpoint pathway and
bridge the innate and adaptive immune system. ALX Oncology’s lead
product candidate, ALX148, is a next generation CD47 blocking
therapeutic that combines a high-affinity CD47 binding domain with
an inactivated, proprietary Fc domain. ALX148 has demonstrated
promising clinical responses across a range of hematologic and
solid malignancies in combination with a number of leading
anti-cancer agents. ALX Oncology intends to continue clinical
development of ALX148 for the treatment of a range of solid tumor
indications as well as MDS and AML. For more information, please
visit www.alxoncology.com.
About TallacTallac Therapeutics is a privately
held biopharmaceutical company harnessing the power of innate and
adaptive immunity to fight cancer. Tallac’s pipeline of
immunotherapy candidates are derived from the company’s novel
Toll-like Receptor Agonist Antibody Conjugate (TRAAC) platform to
deliver a potent Toll-like receptor (TLR9) agonist (T-CpG) for
targeted immune activation via systemic administration. Several
TRAAC molecules are in various stages of discovery and preclinical
development. For more information, please visit
www.tallactherapeutics.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are
based on ALX Oncology’s beliefs and assumptions and on information
currently available to it on the date of this press release.
Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause ALX Oncology’s
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. These statements include but are not limited to
statements regarding the expectations of the collaboration with
Tallac and the beneficial characteristics and potential therapeutic
effects of SIRPα TRAAC. These and other risks are described more
fully in ALX Oncology’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”), including ALX Oncology’s Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 12, 2020, and other
documents ALX Oncology subsequently files with the SEC from time to
time. Except to the extent required by law, ALX Oncology undertakes
no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that
occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were
made.
ALX Oncology
Investor Contact:
Peter Garcia
Chief Financial Officer, ALX Oncology
(650) 466-7125 Ext. 113
peter@alxoncology.com
Argot Partners
(212) 600-1902
alxoncology@argotpartners.com
Media Contact:
Karen Sharma
MacDougall
(781) 235-3060
alx@macbiocom.com
Tallac Therapeutics
Media Contact:
Tara Cooper
The Grace Communication Group
(650) 303-7306
tara@gracegroup.us
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