Myrio Therapeutics today announced a collaborative research partnership with the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health to accelerate the development of next-generation solid tumor T cell immunotherapeutics. The tri-party agreement brings together complementary expertise in peptide HLA (pHLA) binder discovery, bispecific T-cell engager development and cell immunotherapies.
Three-Pillar Approach to Solid Tumor Immunotherapy
The collaboration is structured around three core pillars designed to overcome barriers to effective and durable immunotherapies. The first pillar focuses on targeting oncogenic drivers through leveraging highly specific anti-pHLA antibodies to directly attack the molecular drivers of cancer. The second pillar emphasizes amplifying innate immune functions by coordinating approaches to harness and enhance the body's natural immune defenses. The third pillar involves utilizing novel CAR architectures through co-developing next-generation Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) with heightened sensitivity to a broader range of targets, including those with low abundance.
"A major challenge in the development of cancer treatment is creating tolerable approaches that also deliver effective and long-lasting response in patients," said Daniel J Powell Jr. Ph.D., a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "By uniting the diverse expertise of these three groups, we are in an excellent position to create safe, effective, durable therapy for difficult-to-treat cancers."
Strategic Partnership for Clinical Translation
By combining their strengths, the three parties aim to generate deeper insights into these mechanisms and explore the therapeutic potential of these technologies. The partnership represents a strategic approach to addressing the unique challenges presented by solid tumors, which have historically been more difficult to treat with immunotherapies compared to hematological malignancies.
"We are thrilled to move forward quickly with this collaboration, bringing together uniquely complementary technologies to tackle the challenges of solid tumors," said Mark Yarmarkovich, Assistant Professor, NYU Langone Health. "By combining our platforms, we have the opportunity to create truly differentiated therapies that can change the treatment landscape and, most importantly, make a meaningful difference for patients."
Path to Commercialization
The next step for the collaboration involves formally establishing a company and initiating seed funding to move these advances toward clinical development. Myrio Therapeutics CEO Dr. Graeme Wald emphasized the synergistic nature of the partnership, stating, "This is a magnificent case of putting the best technologies and people together to develop products for solid tumor treatments."
Myrio Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing next-generation precision immunotherapies targeting oncogenic mutations using its proprietary pHLA binder technology. The company's programs focus on delivering transformative therapies for solid tumors, leveraging its extensive antibody library and robust preclinical pipeline.
