[SITC 2024] Abion presents data on antibody-interferon platform for cancer treatment

HOUSTON, TX — By Lee Han-soo/Korea Biomedical Review correspondent —

A promising new cancer treatment platform that combines antibodies with a modified version of interferon-beta showed strong potential in pre-clinical studies, according to researchers at Abion, a Korean biotech company.

The platform, called ABN202, represents a significant advancement in the field of antibody-cytokine fusion proteins (ACFP), marking Abion’s first major presentation of an immunotherapy pipeline product at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) conference.

Abion researcher Park Hee-geon detailed how the company has overcome traditional limitations of interferon-beta treatments through innovative glycosylation techniques to Korea Biomedical Review on-site at the SITC 2024 conference, held from Nov. 6-10 in Houston, Texas.

“While interferon-beta is widely available, creating an effective therapeutic version has been challenging,” Park said. “Our breakthrough came through specific glycosylation modifications that not only improved the molecule’s stability and production efficiency but also unexpectedly enhanced its therapeutic properties.”

A key innovation in the platform is its reduced side effects compared to traditional interferon treatments.

The modified molecule shows 50-100 times weaker binding to certain receptors found on blood cells, significantly reducing toxic effects while maintaining strong anti-cancer activity.

“When both receptors are engaged in the right way, we actually see a five-fold increase in therapeutic activity,” Park said.

The company has demonstrated the platform’s versatility by developing versions targeting various cancer markers, including EGFR, TROP2, and a dual-targeting antibody for VISTA and MSLN.

Particularly promising results have been seen in models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), where the treatment outperformed existing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

To validate their findings, Abion developed specialized mouse models with human interferon receptors, allowing them to demonstrate both the safety and efficacy of their approach.

“These models uniquely allow us to evaluate both toxicity and efficacy, particularly the immune-stimulating effects of our treatment,” Park said.

The company plans to file an IND next year, with initial clinical trials focusing on NSCLC using their TROP2-targeting version.

“This strategic choice was influenced by the opportunity to demonstrate superiority over existing treatments that have shown limitations in clinical trials,” he said.

For now, preliminary safety data appears promising, with no significant toxicity observed at the 1 mg/kg dose level. While some blood-related side effects were noted at much higher doses (30 mg/kg), Park stressed that the company believes these will be manageable within the therapeutic window.

The platform shows particular promise in combination with other treatments, as interferon-beta directly increases PDL1 expression, suggesting potential synergy with existing immunotherapies.

“Beyond just immune activation, our platform shows powerful direct anti-cancer effects,” Park said.

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