Agenus Advances Portfolio With 6 Clinical Collaborations

Agenus Inc. recently announced it has entered into three new clinical collaborations with Targovax, Oxford BioTherapeutics, and Immunogenesis, doubling its current number of clinical collaborations. These six collaborations span a range of Agenus’ clinical assets, including botensilimab (Fc-enhanced anti-CTLA-4), balstilimab (anti-PD-1), zalifrelimab (anti-CTLA-4), and QS-21 STIMULON.

Agenus is pursuing partnerships with companies developing agents with complementary mechanisms, paving the way for promising immunotherapy combinations to address immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. The combination studies are being sponsored and executed by our collaborators, with drug supply and scientific support provided by Agenus. This strategy, enabled by in-house integrated manufacturing and scientific capabilities, positions Agenus to achieve the insights and advances needed to drive development on accelerated timelines.

“These new collaborations with Targovax, Oxford BioTherapeutics, and Immunogenesis are exciting next steps in our partnership strategy to broaden combinations and indications under evaluation with our immunomodulatory antibodies,” said Dr. Steven O’Day, Chief Medical Officer at Agenus. “We believe these combinations may unlock the power of immunotherapy more broadly, potentially offering new and promising benefit to patients with treatment-resistant solid tumors.”

Agenus’ new and ongoing clinical collaborations are supporting and enabling:

• Targovax to conduct a clinical trial combining botensilimab and balstilimab with ONCOS-102 (oncolytic virus) in patients with PD-1 relapsed/refractory melanoma. ONCOS-102 is designed to induce immune activation and immunogenic cell death to improve response to immunotherapy.
• Oxford BioTherapeutics to conduct a clinical trial combining balstilimab with OBT076 (CD205-targeting antibody-drug conjugate) in patients with solid tumors, including lung, gastric, and ovarian cancer. OBT076 is expected to deplete CD205+ cancer cells, and immuno-suppressive cells within the tumor microenvironment, leading to T cell activation and increased response to immunotherapy.
• Immunogenesis to conduct a clinical trial combining balstilimab and zalifrelimab with evofosfamide (hypoxia-reversal agent) in patients with advanced solid tumors, including prostate, pancreatic, HPV-negative head and neck cancer. Evofosfamide is anticipated to reduce tumor hypoxia and restore T cell infiltration and activity within the tumor microenvironment, increasing responsiveness to checkpoint therapy.
• Targovax to conduct a clinical trial combining QS-21 STIMULON with TG01 (KRAS vaccine) in up to 3 cancer indications, including multiple myeloma. TG01 is designed to induce T cells that recognize and destroy mut-RAS cancer cells; QS-21 STIMULON is expected to improve immune cell recognition, activation, and TCR diversity of the immune response.
• Rottapharm Biotech is conducting a clinical trial combining balstilimab with CR6086 (EP4 antagonist) in patients with pMMR-MSS colorectal cancer. CR6086 is expected to inhibit the immune suppressive role of prostaglandins in the tumor microenvironment, improving immunogenicity and responsiveness to immunotherapy. The Phase 1/2 study commenced in 2021.
• Nelum is conducting a clinical trial combining zalifrelimab with NLM-001 (hedgehog inhibitor) and chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. NLM-001 in combination with chemotherapy is anticipated to condition the tumor microenvironment to improve T cell infiltration, activation, and responsiveness to immunotherapy. The Phase 1/2 study commenced in 2021.

Agenus 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 subsidiary MiNK Therapeutics), and adjuvants (through its subsidiary SaponiQx). 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, visit www.agenusbio.com.