NEW YORK – Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals and Guangzhou FineImmune Biotechnology on Thursday said they will codevelop antibody-based cell therapies targeting intracellular tumor-associated antigens.
For its part of the partnership, Beijing-based Biocytogen will bring its T-cell receptor (TCR)-mimic antibody platform, which involves using fully humanized mouse models engineered to express a human leukocyte antigen gene. With high-throughput screening, Biocytogen uses this in vivo approach to home in on intracellular antibodies with high specificity and affinity.
Guangzhou, China-based FineImmune will then use its cell therapy platform to develop therapies such as T-cell engagers, bispecific or multispecific antibodies, and CAR T-cell therapies, against these targets. FineImmune already has several cell therapies in its pipeline, including TCR T-cell, CAR T-cell, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapies. The firm is currently evaluating its personalized neoantigen-specific TCR T-cell therapy in a Phase I trial. The firm is also developing technologies to predict immunotherapy efficacy and side effects.
"Most tumor antigens are intracellular, and our TCR-mimic platform provides a solution for developing antibodies against these valuable targets," Yuelei Shen, Biocytogen CEO, founder, and chairman, said in a statement. "TCR-mimic antibodies generated by our TCR-mimic platform have potentials to be developed into multiple drug modalities … [and] we are pleased to collaborate with FineImmune to explore the application of our antibodies in the field of cell therapies."