The collaboration will evaluate Lyvgen’s LVGN6051, a second generation 4-1BB (CD137) agonist antibody, in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in a Phase 1 study in adult patients with advanced malignancy including lung cancer, melanoma, gastrointestinal cancer with MSI-high or DMMR, and lymphoma.
“We are very excited about this clinical collaboration with MSD to evaluate the combination of KEYTRUDA with LVGN6051, our innovative 4-1BB (CD137) agonist antibody,” said Jieyi Wang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Lyvgen. “CD137 signaling provides critical support for CD8+ effector T cells in a manner complementary to the effect of PD-1 blockade. We believe that the combination of LVGN6051 and KEYTRUDA has the potential to improve treatment outcomes for patients with advanced cancer and may broaden the applications of cancer immunotherapy.”
Lyvgen has initiated a Phase I clinical trial (NCT04130542) in October of 2019.
KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
About LVGN6051
Lyvgen uses its xLinkAb™ platform that leverages IgG and FcγRIIB interaction to generate agonist antibodies targeting co-stimulatory receptors with selectivity for tumor microenvironment to enhance efficacy and therapeutic index.
LVGN6051 specifically binds human CD137 (4-1BB) and activates its signaling only when the engineered Fc of LVGN6051 engages FcγRIIB. In contrast to the first generation CD137 agonist antibodies that entered clinic, LVGN6051 has bi-specificity for CD137 and FcγRIIB.
About Lyvgen’s xLinkAb Platform
xLinkAb platform creates agonist IgG antibodies by leveraging both Fab and Fc binding specificity to achieve target activation selectively in the tumor microenvironment. To increase selectivity for tumors, Lyvgen discovers antibodies that agonize their targets only in the presence of FcγRIIB (FCGR2B; CD32B), which is expressed on immune cells enriched in the tumor microenvironment, including B cells, monocytes and NK cells.
Source: Company Press Release