SKOKIE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exicure, Inc., the pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing three-dimensional, spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) constructs, announced today that it will present preclinical data in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois from April 14-18, 2018. The poster titled “TLR9 agonist SNA-induced innate and adaptive immune responses in tumor microenvironment enhance checkpoint inhibitor antitumor activity in mouse tumor models” supports the ongoing clinical development of the company’s proprietary SNA™ technology and highlights its potential impact in the tumor microenvironment in potentiating antitumor effects of anti-PD-1.
The data presented in the poster, in combination with many other preclinical studies, provided the basis for advancing Exicure’s drug candidate, AST-008, into its Phase 1 clinical trial. We began subject dosing in our Phase 1 clinical trial for AST-008 in the fourth quarter of 2017 and expect this trial to be completed in mid-2018.
AST-008 utilizes Exicure’s proprietary spherical nucleic acid (SNA) technology designed in this case to agonize toll-like receptor 9, or TLR9, for application in immuno-oncology. Exicure has observed that administration of AST-008 as a monotherapy can have anti-tumor activity in colon cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma and melanoma mouse models. The company has also observed that, in preclinical studies in a variety of tumor models, AST-008 applied in combination with certain checkpoint inhibitors exhibited anti-tumor responses and survival rates that were greater than those demonstrated by checkpoint inhibitors alone.
Details on the poster presentation are as follows:
Title: TLR9 agonist SNA-induced innate and adaptive immune
responses in tumor micro-environment enhance checkpoint inhibitor
antitumor activity in mouse tumor models
Abstract No: 3758
Session
Title: Immunomodulatory Agents and Interventions 1
Date/Time:
April 17, 2018; 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM CT
Location: McCormick
Place South, Exhibit Hall A, Poster Section 32
Full abstracts are available on the AACR conference website at http://www.aacr.org.
About Exicure, Inc.
Exicure, Inc. is a clinical stage
biotechnology company developing a new class of immunomodulatory and
gene regulating drugs against validated targets. Exicure's proprietary
3-dimensional, spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) architecture unlocks the
potential of therapeutic oligonucleotides in a wide range of cells and
tissues. Exicure's lead programs address inflammatory diseases, genetic
disorders and oncology. Exicure is based outside of Chicago, Ill. www.exicuretx.com
