Argos Therapeutics Enters Strategic Research Agreement With Adaptive Biotechnologies

Argos Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced that it is partnering with Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation, based in Seattle, WA, to study precise response patterns to Argos’ investigational immunotherapies.

Under the agreement, Adaptive will use its patented immune profiling immunoSEQ Assay to enable a more in-depth characterization of the immune response induced by Argos’s lead product candidate, AGS-003, which is currently being studied in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and bladder cancer. In addition, Argos is developing its second Arcelis product candidate, AGS-004, for the treatment and the possible eradication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in patients with HIV-infection or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The application of Adaptive’s immune profiling technology in this setting will enable Argos to further characterize with greater precision the transfer of specific genetic signatures from each patient’s HIV, through AGS-004, to a specific immune response against each patient’s unique virus population.

“We are very excited to be entering into this important research agreement with Adaptive Biotechnologies,” said Dr. Charles Nicolette, Argos’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Adaptive is our preferred partner because of their established expertise in offering high-throughput immune receptor repertoire characterization and advanced bioinformatics that are ideally suited to analyze precision of target-specific immune activation enabled by Arcelis administration with higher resolution.”

“Argos is on the cutting edge of precision immunotherapy with their advanced Phase III immuno-oncology agent, and platform extension into individualized HIV treatment,” added Chad Robins, Adaptive’s President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. “As the leader in immunosequencing, Adaptive’s technology is well-suited to uncover the dynamics of the adaptive immune system response to Argos’ therapies.”

Adaptive Biotechnologies is the pioneer and leader in combining high-throughput sequencing and expert bioinformatics to profile T-cell and B-cell receptors. Adaptive is bringing the accuracy and sensitivity of its immunosequencing platform into laboratories around the world to drive ground-breaking research in cancer and other immune-mediated diseases. Adaptive also translates immunosequencing discoveries into clinical diagnostics and therapeutic development to improve patient care. For more information, visit adaptivebiotech.com.

Adaptive’s immunoSEQ Platform helps researchers make discoveries in areas such as oncology, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases and basic immunology. The immunoSEQ Assays can identify millions of T- and B-cell receptors from a single sample in exquisite detail. Offered as a Service or Kit, immunoSEQ Assays provide quantitative, reproducible sequencing results along with access to powerful, easy-to-use analysis tools. The immunoSEQ Assays are for research use only and are not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Arcelis is a precision immunotherapy technology that captures mutated and variant antigens that are specific to each patient’s disease. It is designed to overcome immunosuppression by producing a durable memory T-cell response without adjuvants that may be associated with toxicity. The technology is potentially applicable to a wide range of different cancers, and is designed to overcome many of the manufacturing and commercialization challenges that have impeded other personalized cancer immunotherapies. The Arcelis process uses only a small tumor or blood sample and the patient’s own dendritic cells, which are optimized from cells collected by a single leukapheresis procedure. The proprietary process uses RNA isolated from the patient’s disease sample to program dendritic cells to target disease specific antigens. The activated, antigen-loaded dendritic cells are then formulated with the patient’s plasma and administered via intradermal injection.

Argos Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of truly individualized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer using its Arcelis technology platform. Argos’ most advanced product candidate, AGS-003, is being evaluated in the pivotal ADAPT Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Argos is also developing a separate Arcelis-based product candidate, AGS-004, for the treatment of HIV, which is currently being evaluated in an investigator-initiated Phase II clinical trial aimed at HIV eradication in adult patients.