New Preclinical Data being Presented at SITC Underscore Promising Combinations of Affimed’s AFM13 and Cytokine-Activated Na...
November 09 2020 - 8:20AM
- Virtual data presentation at The Society for Immunotherapy of
Cancer (SITC) 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting on Wednesday,
November 11, 2020
Heidelberg, Germany, November 9, 2020 –
Affimed N.V. (Nasdaq: AFMD), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology
company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to
fight cancer, announced today that preclinical data – generated
through a collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine – will
be the focus of an oral presentation at the virtual Annual Meeting
of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), identifying
promising combinations of Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) AFM13 with
cytokine-activated adult blood or cord blood natural killer (NK)
cells against CD30-positive hematological malignancies. Nancy D.
Marin, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine will
present these data virtually on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 from
3:45 – 5:15 p.m. EST during the session, “Innate Immunity: The Next
Generation of Targets for Anti-Cancer Immunotherapy.”
“The current set of preclinical in vitro and in vivo data
demonstrate the increased efficacy of AFM13-preloaded cord
blood-derived NK cells towards CD30-positive tumor cells,” said
Arndt Schottelius, M.D. PhD, Affimed’s Chief Scientific Officer.
“We are excited about these data that laid the groundwork for the
ongoing Phase 1 evaluation of this combination to treat patients
suffering from CD30+ malignancies.”
NK cell-based immunotherapies represent an emerging field of
targeting hard-to-treat cancers. To evaluate the potential of
innate cell engagers (ICE®) to trigger NK cell-directed tumor cell
killing, the collaborative research analyzed AFM13-mediated tumor
cell killing in combination with several NK cell products,
including conventional (c)NK cells from healthy donors, NK cells
from patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma, cytokine-induced memory-like
(ML) NK cells from peripheral blood and preactivated and expanded
cord blood (cb) NK cells. Affimed’s tetravalent bispecific ICE®
AFM13 binds to CD30, a protein found on tumor cells, as well as
CD16A, a molecule found on NK cells and macrophages, triggering the
innate immune system to initiate tumor-cell killing. The cbNK cells
were then stably pre-loaded with AFM13, enhancing responses to
CD30+ lymphomas in vitro and in vivo in immunodeficient NSG mouse
models.
AFM13-preloaded cNK cells from healthy donors exhibited superior
responses versus those from Hodgkin lymphoma patients suggesting
that the source of NK cells impacts tumor cell killing. IL-12,
IL-15, and IL-18-induced ML NK cells exhibited enhanced killing of
CD30+ lymphoma cells when directed by AFM13, compared to cNK cells.
Similarly, AFM13 combined with cord-blood expanded NK cells that
were pre-activated with IL-12, IL-15 and IL-18 also exhibited tumor
cell killing compared to expanded cb NK cells.
“ICE® molecules combined with NK cells have the potential to
improve tumor cell killing of hard-to-treat cancers,” said Dr.
Marin from Washington University School of Medicine. “Based on this
data, a patient with NK cells rendered dysfunctional could see
meaningful benefit when adding cytokine-activated cord blood cells
or ML NK cells to enhance the tumor cell killing of AFM13, helping
restore functionality to their depleted NKs and innate immune
system.”
“The use of cbNK cells complexed with AFM13 to target lymphomas
expressing CD30 represents a novel approach to immunotherapy. This
technique has the potential to be extended to other cancer targets
in the future, transforming pre-complex NK cells into de facto CAR
NK cells, thus providing a rapid pathway for translating new NK
cell therapies into the clinic,” said first author Lucila Kerbauy,
M.D., who led the work as a postdoctoral fellow at
MD Anderson.
The presented data formed the basis of an Investigational New
Drug (IND) Application and further substantiate the rationale for
combining AFM13 with adoptive NK cell-based therapies, as is
being currently investigated in a Phase I clinical study at MD
Anderson (NCT04074746). Additionally, these new data and
methodology are also being used in a Phase I study with AFM24 –
Affimed’s tetravalent, bispecific ICE® that binds to EGFR on tumor
cells and CD16A on innate immune cells – in EGFR-positive advanced
solid tumors to characterize NK cell phenotypes in patients
(NCT04259450).
For more information visit the SITC website at
www.sitcancer.org/2020/home.
About AFM13
AFM13 is a first-in-class CD30/CD16A ROCK®-derived
bispecific innate cell engager (ICE®) that induces specific and
selective killing of CD30-positive tumor cells by engaging and
activating natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages, thereby
leveraging the power of the innate immune system. AFM13 is
Affimed’s most advanced ICE® clinical program, and it is currently
being evaluated as a monotherapy in a registration-directed trial
in patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma
(REDIRECT). The study is actively recruiting and can be found at
www.clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier NCT04101331.
About Affimed N.V.
Affimed (Nasdaq: AFMD) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology
company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to
fight cancer. Affimed’s fit-for-purpose ROCK® platform allows
innate cell engagers to be designed for specific patient
populations. The company is developing single and combination
therapies to treat hematologic and solid tumors. The company is
currently enrolling patients into a registration-directed study of
AFM13 for CD30-positive relapsed/refractory peripheral T cell
lymphoma and into a Phase 1/2a dose escalation/expansion study of
AFM24 for the treatment of advanced EGFR-expressing solid tumors.
For more information, please visit www.affimed.com.
Affimed Investor and Media Contacts
Alex Fudukidis Head of Investor Relations
a.fudukidis@affimed.com
Mary Beth Sandin Head of Marketing and Communications
m.sandin@affimed.com
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