Enedra Therapeutics Secures New Funding to Advance AI-Driven Platform for Difficult-to-Treat Cancers
• London-based Enedra Therapeutics has secured venture capital and non-dilutive funding from UKRI's Innovate UK program to advance its proprietary CASPAROV bioinformatics platform targeting chromosomal instability in cancer.
• The investment round was led by the Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), o2h Ventures, and Cancer Research Horizons, bringing significant expertise in drug discovery and development to support Enedra's pipeline.
• Enedra's approach focuses on exploiting cancer cells' dependence on survival mechanisms caused by chromosomal instability, with plans to accelerate drug discovery programs and validate patient selection biomarkers.
eXmoor Pharma and KU Leuven Form Strategic Alliance to Accelerate AAV Gene Therapy Development
• eXmoor Pharma and KU Leuven have established a strategic partnership to support a new cell and gene therapy hub, focusing on accelerating AAV gene therapies from bench to first-in-human trials.
• The collaboration will develop a proprietary AAV producer cell line, build a scalable platform process, and provide comprehensive CMC support, combining KU Leuven's academic innovation with eXmoor's manufacturing expertise.
• This alliance aims to address critical bottlenecks in gene therapy development by streamlining translation pathways and ensuring cost-effective, scalable vector production for promising therapeutic candidates.
KU Leuven and UZ Leuven Launch €14 Million Advanced Therapy Production Facility
• KU Leuven and UZ Leuven are investing €14 million to establish an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) facility on the Gasthuisberg campus, scheduled to be operational by late 2025.
• The facility aims to develop personalized cell and gene therapies at significantly lower costs than pharmaceutical companies, with projects focusing on rare pediatric diseases, CAR-T cell therapy for leukemia, and a glioblastoma cancer vaccine.
• By keeping expertise and production in-house within the public domain, the facility expects to bring treatments to clinical trials for approximately €5 million, compared to the €25-50 million typically required by pharmaceutical companies.
Evorpacept Shows Promise in HER2-Positive Gastric Cancer: Updated ASPEN-06 Data
• ALX Oncology's ASPEN-06 Phase 2 trial evaluates evorpacept, a CD47-blocker, in HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer patients who have been previously treated.
• Updated data from the ASPEN-06 trial were presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI).
• The virtual event hosted by ALX Oncology on January 23, reviewed the ASPEN-06 data, focusing on evorpacept's potential in immuno-oncology.
• The ASPEN-06 trial is a phase 2/3 study of evorpacept in patients with HER2-overexpressing gastric/gastroesophageal cancer.
PDC*line Pharma's PDC*lung01 Shows Promising Results in NSCLC Phase I/II Trial
• PDC*lung01 combined with pembrolizumab demonstrates potential clinical benefits for stage IV NSCLC patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50%.
• The combination therapy achieved a 55% objective response rate in 42 evaluable patients, meeting the trial's predefined success criteria.
• Patients treated with the combination showed a median progression-free survival of 8.9 months, a 36% improvement over pembrolizumab alone.
• The cancer vaccine exhibited a mild safety profile, with most adverse events being low grade and leading to few discontinuations.
MX Protein's Antiviral Mechanism Against HIV-1 and Herpes Simplex Virus Unveiled
• Researchers have elucidated the mechanism by which the MX protein, an interferon-stimulated gene product, combats HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus-1 infections.
• The MX protein assembles virus decoy structures mimicking nuclear pore complexes, trapping and disrupting viral entry into the host cell nucleus.
• This discovery reveals that MX proteins trick viruses into prematurely releasing their genetic material, preventing the spread of viral infections.
• The findings offer potential new avenues for developing antiviral therapies targeting viral entry and replication mechanisms.
Adcendo's ADCE-D01 Receives FDA Clearance for Phase I/II Soft Tissue Sarcoma Trial
• Adcendo's ADCE-D01, a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting uPARAP, has received FDA clearance for a Phase I/II trial in metastatic and/or unresectable soft tissue sarcoma (STS).
• The ADCElerate-01 trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of ADCE-D01 as a monotherapy in STS patients.
• uPARAP, the target of ADCE-D01, is highly overexpressed in mesenchymal cancers like STS, making it an attractive target for ADC development.
• The trial will recruit patients in the US and Europe, marking a significant step in developing new treatment options for STS with limited alternatives.
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