Press Release
03 May 2021
Immunicum AB Presents Preclinical Data for Ilixadencel and DCP-001 at the 18th Cancer Immunotherapy Annual Meeting
Immunicum AB (publ; IMMU.ST) announced today the publication of two abstracts for oral presentations covering preclinical data on its lead programs, ilixadencel and DCP-001, at the 18th Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) Annual Meeting, held virtually from Monday, May 10 to Wednesday, May 12, 2021. The accepted abstracts are now available on the conference website. The presentations cover updated preclinical data on the combination of ilixadencel with a checkpoint inhibitor targeting CTLA4 and new preclinical data on the mechanism of action of DCP-001 and its combination with the emerging immunotherapy target CD47.
“We value the opportunity to present these new encouraging data that further validate our novel immunotherapy approaches,” said Alex Karlsson-Parra, Chief Scientific Officer at Immunicum. “The data, as published today in the abstracts, supports the potential of combining immune primer ilixadencel with a checkpoint inhibitor, and underscores the important interaction with the patient’s own immune cells through the mechanism of action of DCP-001. Both presentations highlight our leadership in developing novel cell-based therapies against cancer.”
The data covered in the ilixadencel abstract published today by the conference extends data from previous preclinical experiments of ilixadencel in combination with an anti-CTLA4 checkpoint inhibitor in a CT26 colon carcinoma animal model, which demonstrated that the combination of ilixadencel and anti-CTLA4 led to complete eradication of tumors in 50-80% of the treated animals. These effects were mainly driven by CD8+ T cells and, in the new data to be presented at CIMT, characterization of CD8+ T cells from blood samples confirmed that the combination of ilixadencel and anti-CTLA4 therapy increased the frequency of CD8+ T cells with the specific markers NKG2D, CX3CR1 and CD39. These markers indicate a crucial population related to tumor-infiltrating cells with a ‘tumor-matched’ phenotype that is able to attack cancer cells.
For the abstract covering DCP-001, new preclinical data elucidate the mechanism of action through which DCP-001 can induce specific anti-tumor immunity in patients’ immune cells. The preclinical evaluation of DCP-001 mixed with the host immune cells, called peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), shows the induction of the production of various pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by these PBMCs. In addition, DCP-001 was efficiently taken up by immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells, and the blockade of the “don’t eat me” signal and emerging immunotherapy target CD47 enhanced the uptake of DCP-001. These results suggest a vital role for the patient’s immune cells in triggering the immune response upon DCP-001 vaccination and support the clinical rationale for further combination therapies including CD47 inhibitors.
Abstracts for the CIMT Annual Meeting were published today in the online program book on the CIMT conference website available via this link. eTalks will be available for registered attendees for on-demand participation at the online conference platform through June 12, 2021.
Details on the presentations are as follows:
Title: Combining intratumoral administration of inflammatory allogeneic DCs with systemic anti-CTLA-4 treatment leads to tumor eradication and is associated with peripheral expansion of CD8+ effector cells with a “tumor-matched” phenotype
Abstract #: A-217
Session Topic: Therapeutic Vaccination
eTalk Session: eTalk Session 1, Monday, 10 May 2021; 2:00-3:00 pm (CEST)
Presenter: Alex Karlsson-Parra, Chief Scientific Officer at Immunicum
Title: CD47 and phosphatidylserine contribute to the interaction between antigen presenting cells and the allogeneic cell-based relapse vaccine DCP-001
Abstract #: A-337
Session Topic: Cellular Therapy
eTalk Session: eTalk Session 2, Tuesday, 11 May 2021; 5:00-6:00 pm (CEST)
Presenter: Satwinder Kaur Singh, Director of Research at Immunicum
For more information, please contact:
Erik Manting
Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: +31 713 322 627
E-mail: ir@immunicum.com
Investor Relations
Sijme Zeilemaker
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communication
Telephone: +46 8 732 8400
E-mail: ir@immunicum.com
Media Relations
Eva Mulder and Sophia Hergenhan
Trophic Communications
Telephone: +49 175 222 57 56
E-mail: immu@trophic.eu
About Immunicum AB (publ)
Immunicum is leveraging its unparalleled expertise in dendritic cell biology to develop novel, off-the-shelf, cell-based therapies for solid and blood-borne tumors. With complementary therapeutic approaches in Phase II clinical development that are based on intratumoral priming and cancer relapse vaccination, the company aims to improve survival outcomes and quality of life for a broad population of cancer patients. Based in Sweden and the Netherlands, Immunicum is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stockholm. www.immunicum.com
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