Agenus Doses First Cancer Patient with iNKT Cell Therapy
April 14 2021 - 8:30AM
Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an
extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies,
adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune response to
cancers and infections, today announced the dosing of the first
cancer patient with agenT-797, an allogeneic iNKT cell therapy, in
a Phase 1 clinical trial through its subsidiary, AgenTus
Therapeutics.
"Our proprietary iNKT cell therapy has been advancing in the
clinic in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
secondary to COVID-19; we are now expanding our iNKT cell therapy
to treat patients with cancer,” said Jennifer Buell, PhD, President
and COO of Agenus. “iNKT cells penetrate tissues, demonstrate
potent tumor killing, and show compelling curative potential in
solid tumor models with activating iNKT cell therapies and
checkpoint antibodies. We are thrilled to advance this cell therapy
for broader benefit in patients with solid tumors and in
combination with antibodies.”
The Phase 1 trial has been initiated in hematologic cancers,
with expansion into solid tumors expected to begin shortly. Led by
Clifton Mo, MD, Director of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation
for Multiple Myeloma at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Phase
I dose-escalation trial will explore the safety, tolerability, and
preliminary clinical activity of agenT-797 in patients with
relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Agenus anticipates initial
data readouts for the Phase 1 study in the fourth quarter of
2021.
A Phase 1 trial of agent-797 for intubated patients with
moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 was initiated in late 2020.
Preliminary data show no adverse events attributable to agent-797
and suggest early signals of activity. Dose escalation is expected
to be completed in the first half of 2021 with expansion into a
Phase 2 trial with data readouts expected this year.
iNKT cell therapy is expected to eliminate graft-versus-host
disease, may not require genetic manipulation, and can be
manufactured to treat large numbers of patients from a single dose.
These attributes support the possibility of a safer and more
affordable and accessible therapy than currently approved cell
therapies.
As a subsidiary of Agenus, AgenTus currently has unique access
to Agenus’ portfolio of checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines
which allows for optimal combinations with its cell therapies. This
gives the company enormous flexibility to develop effective
combinations with curative potential for patients with cancer and
infectious disease.
About AgenTus Therapeutics, Inc. AgenTus
Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing
allogeneic iNKT cell therapies to treat cancer and other
life-threatening diseases. AgenTus also aims to advance adoptive
cell therapy formats which would enable off-the-shelf living drugs.
AgenTus has locations in Lexington, MA and Cambridge, UK. For more
information, please visit www.agentustherapeutics.com.
About AgenusAgenus is a clinical-stage
immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of
therapies that engage the body's immune system to fight cancer. The
Company's vision is to expand the patient populations benefiting
from cancer immunotherapy by pursuing combination approaches that
leverage a broad repertoire of antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell
therapies (through its AgenTus Therapeutics subsidiary), and
proprietary cancer vaccine platforms. The Company is equipped with
a suite of antibody discovery platforms and a state-of-the-art GMP
manufacturing facility with the capacity to support clinical
programs. Agenus is headquartered in Lexington, MA. For more
information, please visit www.agenusbio.com and our Twitter handle
@agenus_bio. Information that may be important to investors will be
routinely posted on our website and Twitter.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding the anticipated data readouts from cell
therapy phase 1 clinical trials for cancer and COVID-19, expansion
of phase 1 clinical trials into solid tumors, the anticipated
commencement of future clinical trials and the expected benefits to
be observed in these trials and with these cell therapy treatments
generally. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others,
the factors described under the Risk Factors section of our most
recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agenus cautions
investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this release. These statements speak only
as of the date of this press release, and Agenus undertakes no
obligation to update or revise the statements, other than to the
extent required by law. All forward-looking statements are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
ContactAgenus Investor
RelationsJan Medina,
CFAAgenus781-674-4490Jan.Medina@agenusbio.com
Agenus Media RelationsKimberly
HaKKH Advisors917-291-5744kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com
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