This tripartite agreement leverages expertise in cell immunotherapies, peptide HLA (pHLA) binder discovery, and bispecific T cell engagers, with the aim of overcoming challenges to achieving durable cancer treatments.
The collaboration aims to target oncogenic drivers by utilising highly specific anti-pHLA antibodies to directly combat the molecular drivers of cancer.
Additionally, it seeks to amplify innate immune functions by coordinating strategies to harness and bolster the body’s natural defences.
Furthermore, the partners will employ innovative chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) architectures to co-develop CARs with increased sensitivity to a wider array of targets, including those present in low abundance.
This partnership seeks to provide an understanding of these mechanisms and investigate the therapeutic potential of these technologies.
The next step involves the establishment of a company formally and securing seed funding to advance these developments towards clinical application.
Myrio Therapeutics CEO Dr Graeme Wald said: “This is a magnificent case of putting the best technologies and people together to develop products for solid tumour treatments. The next step will be to formally establish a company and initiate seed funding to move these advances toward clinical development.”
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine pathology and laboratory professor Daniel Powell Jr said: “A major challenge in the development of cancer treatment is creating tolerable approaches that also deliver effective and long-lasting response in patients.
“By uniting the diverse expertise of these three groups, we are in an excellent position to create safe, effective, durable therapy for difficult-to-treat cancers.”