ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aduro Biotech, Inc., a leader in the development of therapies for immuno-oncology, today announced data demonstrating potent anti-tumor activity in preclinical models treated with ADU-S100, a proprietary molecule based on the company’s cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) platform technology. The data were presented by Thomas W. Dubensky, Jr., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Aduro, at the American Association for Cancer Research Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Conference being held in Orlando this week.
The preclinical studies evaluated the ability of ADU-S100 to stimulate and activate the STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) pathway to generate an immune response that specifically attacks tumor cells. ADU-S100 is a novel synthetic CDN molecule that was developed due to its ability to stimulate human immune cells from a large pool of donors that comprised all of the known versions of STING genes. In murine cancer models, the data showed that direct intratumoral injection of ADU-S100 into melanoma, colon and breast tumors profoundly inhibited tumor growth both locally and systemically, with a lasting response that provided protection against tumor regrowth and significantly inhibited growth of distal tumors.
“These are encouraging data that support advancement of our CDN technology into Phase 1 clinical trials,” said Dr. Dubensky. “We believe our rationally designed synthetic CDN compounds have the potential to prime the immune system to recognize an individual’s unique tumor antigen repertoire and provide effective immunity against it. With this approach, our goal is to provide patients with a greater tumor targeting specificity and ultimately a more effective and less toxic therapeutic option to treat cancer.”
About CDNs and ADU-S100
Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) are small molecule immune modulators that target and activate the STING receptor. Once activated, STING initiates a profound innate immune response by signaling through multiple distinct pathways, inducing the expression of a broad profile of interferons, cytokines and chemokines that shape the development of an effective specific T cell and antibody adaptive immune response. Recent advancements in the field of STING biology have created enthusiasm about the potential for STING-targeting drug candidates across diverse applications. ADU-S100 is Aduro’s lead proprietary synthetic CDN designed to activate all known human STING alleles and to be significantly more potent than naturally occurring CDN molecules and TLR agonists. ADU-S100 has a high translational potential as a therapeutic approach to elicit an effective immune response against a diverse tumor antigen repertoire that is unique to the targeted tumors.
About Aduro Biotech, Inc.
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on immunotherapy for cancer. Aduro’s lead platform is based on proprietary strains of live-attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes that induce a potent innate immune response and have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce tumor-specific T cell-mediated immunity. Aduro has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA for its lead LADD strain, CRS-207, in combination with GVAX Pancreas in pancreatic cancer. The company is evaluating the proprietary immunotherapy combination in the ongoing Phase 2b ECLIPSE clinical trial and has additional ongoing clinical trials with its LADD platform in mesothelioma and glioblastoma. The company is also developing clinical candidates using novel small molecules that activate the intracellular STING receptor, a central mediator of the innate immune response. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
