NEW YORK – Medigene on Thursday said it is expanding its pipeline into T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T-cell therapies targeting KRAS and HLA mutations.
The firm previously focused on development of T-cell immunotherapies but has announced three new programs targeting different KRAS mutations: MDG2011, targeting KRAS G12V-A11; MDG2012, targeting KRAS G12V-A03; and MDG2021, targeting KRAS G12D-A11.
Medigene CEO Selwyn Ho said in a statement that the company plans to combine the KRAS-targeted programs with its product enhancement technology, the PD1-41BB or CD40L-CD28 switch receptors, to "enhance the proliferation and persistence of the TCR-T cells and to help mitigate the immunosuppressive effects of the tumor microenvironment."
"Our pipeline expansion into neoantigens with multiple KRAS targets represents a major advance in our pursuit to develop best-in-class TCR-T therapies for patients suffering from difficult-to-treat solid tumors," Ho continued.
The KRAS candidates are still in preclinical development, and Medigene expects to select a lead candidate for the MDG2011 program in Q3.
The firm's lead candidate, MDG1011, is being studied in patients with blood cancers positive for HLA-A*02:01.