AUSTIN, Texas & HAMILTON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Triumvira Immunologics (Triumvira), a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing a novel platform for engineering T-cells to attack cancers, today announced the issuance of key claims in U.S. Patent No. 10435453 entitled “Trifunctional T cell-antigen coupler and methods and uses thereof.” The allowed composition-of-matter claims describe multiple structures used in TAC constructs providing broad protection of the company’s TAC platform.
Triumvira recently announced the clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) and Clinical Trial Applications (CTA) by U.S. and Canadian Health Authorities for its novel T cell therapy product TAC01-CD19 in patients with CD19-positive B-cell malignancies. The Phase 1/2 study (TACTIC-19, NCT03880279) is expected to be initiated in late 2019.
“Obtaining intellectual property protection of our TAC platform is a key milestone and confirms that TAC is a well-differentiated technology,” said Dr. Paul Lammers, Triumvira’s President and CEO. “Issuance of our composition of matter claims further strengthens our position as a company pioneering novel engineered T cell approaches as we are bringing this innovative treatment to patients.”
Triumvira’s preclinical data previously revealed unique biological differences of TAC-engineered T cells compared to second-generation CAR-T cells, with TAC-T cells producing greater anti-tumor efficacy and no evidence of toxicity, particularly in models of solid tumors.
About TAC01-CD19
Despite transformational efficacy with existing approved Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells (CAR-T), a significant unmet need remains due to substantial CAR-T toxicities and limited tumor types where CAR-T is effective. Triumvira is developing a proprietary T Cell Antigen Coupler (TAC) technology platform which is biologically distinct from CAR-T. The first of the company’s pipeline product candidates, TAC01-CD19, is a novel T cell therapy product targeting CD19 for use in B-cell malignancies. The product comprises patient-derived T cells that have been genetically engineered to express the CD19 T cell Antigen Coupler (TAC). Preclinical data suggest that TAC01-CD19 has the potential for being highly efficacious with minimal side effects in hematological malignancies.
About Triumvira Immunologics
Triumvira Immunologics, Inc. (“Triumvira”) is a clinical stage immunotherapy company co-founded in 2015 by Dr. Jonathan Bramson at McMaster University and Bloom Burton & Co., with the vision of developing novel T cell therapies that are safer and more efficacious than current gene therapy cancer treatments, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and engineered T cell receptor (TCR) therapies. The proprietary T cell Antigen Coupler (TAC) technology recruits the entire natural T cell receptor and is independent of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), allowing for the development of better therapies for a broader range of patients with solid or liquid malignancies and with diseases other than cancer. With operations spanning North America, our corporate offices are in Austin, Texas, with our research facilities in Hamilton, Ontario. For more information, visit www.triumvira.com or send email inquiries to partners@triumvira.com