Unum Therapeutics Announces Strategic Focus on Developing Best-in-Class Cellular Therapies for Solid Tumor Cancers | DNA RNA and Cells | News Channels…
DetailsCategory: DNA RNA and CellsPublished on Tuesday, 05 November 2019 10:32Hits: 189
- Solid tumor cancers represent the greatest unmet medical need for targeted cell therapies; Unums goals are to more selectively target solid tumors with its ACTR platform candidates and improve T cell functionality in the solid tumor microenvironment with its BOXR platform candidates -
- Priorities moving forward include completing its ongoing Phase 1 trial with ACTR707 in HER2+ cancers, filing an IND for BOXR1030, and expanding its BOXR platform for further pipeline expansion -
- Company to deemphasize hematologic programs with plans for limited dose-escalation in Phase 1 non-Hodgkin lymphoma trial and suspension of Phase 1 multiple myeloma trial -
CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I November 04, 2019 I Unum Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: UMRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing curative cell therapies for cancer, today announced a strategic shift to focus development on its ACTR and BOXR product candidates in solid tumors and supportive platform capabilities.
We are uniquely positioned to address the challenge of treating solid tumor cancers, and now is the time to focus our efforts, having recently validated our ACTR technology in the hematologic setting and with preclinical data emerging from BOXR1030, the first product candidate from our BOXR platform. Our ACTR technology enables selective T cell targeting for on-tumor attack, while our BOXR platform makes it possible to overcome solid tumor immunosuppression, the fundamental challenge that has limited the effectiveness of cell therapies, said Chuck Wilson Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Unum. Our priorities in solid tumors include completing the ongoing Phase 1 trial of ACTR707 in HER2+ cancers; advancing BOXR1030 towards the clinic with an anticipated IND filing in 2020; and expanding our BOXR platform to accelerate discovery of new product candidates across a broad range of immune cell therapies, including both autologous and allogeneic approaches.
ACTR707 was engineered for properties that optimize its function in solid tumors including increased proliferation, cytokine secretion, and persistence. With Unums focus on developing therapies for solid tumors, the company will de-prioritize investment in its hematologic programs. Testing through the first four dose levels in the ongoing ATTCK-20-03 Phase 1 trial in non-Hodgkin lymphoma has now established proof-of-concept for ACTR707. Given favorable tolerability to date at relatively low doses, Unum is announcing today plans to continue limited dose escalation to inform potential future development of the program in 2020.
Separately, Unum and its partner, Seattle Genetics, Inc., have suspended further dose-escalation of the ATTCK-17-01 Phase 1 trial of ACTR087 with SEA-BCMA in multiple myeloma pending a further review of this program. No dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) following ACTR087 administration were reported and no severe adverse events of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurologic events have been observed to date.
Solid Tumor Program Highlights
Hematologic Program Highlights
About Unum Therapeutics
Unum Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing curative cell therapies to treat a broad range of cancer patients. Unums novel proprietary technologies include Antibody-Coupled T cell Receptor (ACTR), an autologous engineered T-cell therapy that combines the cell-killing ability of T cells and the tumor-targeting ability of co-administered antibodies to exert potent antitumor immune responses, and Bolt-On Chimeric Receptor (BOXR), designed to improve the functionality of engineered T cells by incorporating a bolt-on transgene to overcome resistance of the solid tumor microenvironment to T cell attack. Unum has multiple programs in Phase 1 clinical testing and preclinical testing, including; ACTR707 used in combination with trastuzumab in adult patients with HER2+ advanced cancer and used in combination with rituximab in adult patients with r/r NHL; and BOXR1030 expressing the GOT2 transgene and targeting GPC3+ solid tumor cancers. The Company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
SOURCE: Unum Therapeutics
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Unum Therapeutics Announces Strategic Focus on Developing Best-in-Class Cellular Therapies for Solid Tumor Cancers | DNA RNA and Cells | News Channels...