Synthekine Announces Presentations at AACR 2023 Annual Meeting Showcasing Next Series of Oncology Programs

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Synthekine Inc., an engineered cytokine therapeutics company, today announced that two poster presentations showcasing its next series of oncology programs will be delivered at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 taking place in Orlando, FL from April 14-19, 2023.

"We are excited to present on two programs from our maturing oncology pipeline at AACR 2023,” said Debanjan Ray, chief executive officer of Synthekine. “We are introducing the clinical trial design for our orthogonal IL-2 and CD19 CAR-T combination therapy, STK-009 + SYNCAR-001. This unique combination pioneers new ground in the field of cytokine supported cell therapy, and is our second oncology program to enter clinical studies, behind STK-012, our alpha/beta-biased IL-2 partial agonist.”

Ray continued, “We are also introducing STK-026, our IL-12 partial agonist program, which is currently in IND-enabling studies and shows promise as a potent immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. Systemically administered wild-type IL-12 has been shown to cause significant toxicity. Our approach with STK-026 leverages Synthekine’s expertise in structural biology, immunology, and protein engineering to bias IL-12 activity and expand the therapeutic index.”

Details are as follows and available on the AACR online itinerary planner:

Title: Trial in Progress: A Phase 1 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of a Combination Autologous CD19 CAR T Cell Therapy (SYNCAR-001) and Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) in Subjects With Relapsed or Refractory CD19+ Hematologic Malignancies (NCT05665062)
Session Title: Phase I Clinical Trials in Progress
Session Date & Time: Monday Apr 17, 2023 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM ET
Location: Poster Section 46
Poster Board Number: 13
Abstract Number: CT125
Summary: A first-in-human, open-label, dose escalation study of combination SYNCAR-001 + STK-009 in adults with relapsed or refractory (r/r) CD19+ hematologic malignancies (NCT05665062). The objectives of this study are to evaluate the safety, preliminary efficacy, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and pharmacodynamics of SYNCAR-001 + STK-009. Recruitment in the Phase 1 study is underway.

Title: Novel IL-12 Partial Agonist For Cancer Immunotherapy Avoids NK-cell Mediated Toxicity
Session Title: Immunomodulatory Agents and Interventions 2
Session Date & Time: Monday Apr 17, 2023 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Location: Poster Section 24
Poster Board Number: 5
Abstract Number: 1833
Summary: A novel human IL-12 partial agonist (STK-026) has been designed to more selectively engage antigen activated T-cells and to reduce stimulation of NK cells. In preclinical models, a mouse surrogate of STK-026 retained anti-tumor efficacy without induction of severe toxicities and spike in NK cell activation associated with wild-type mouse IL-12 treatment. Similarly, STK-026 avoided NK hyperactivation on human cells. These data suggest IL-12 partial agonists may represent a novel immunotherapy approach to maintain efficacy while avoiding classical toxicity associated with IL-12 therapy.

Copies of the posters will be available on Synthekine’s website following presentation at the meeting.

About Synthekine
Synthekine is harnessing the potential of cytokine therapeutics to develop selective immunotherapies designed to improve the treatment paradigm of cancer and inflammatory disease. Using insights on cytokine structure and function, the company engineers therapeutics designed to unlock the full efficacy potential of cytokines while avoiding their associated toxicities. Synthekine is applying principles of cytokine partial agonism and immunological specificity across multiple protein engineering platforms to create a broad and deep pipeline of product candidates. These novel immunotherapies include modified cytokines, cytokine-enhanced cell therapies and surrogate cytokine agonists. For more information, visit www.www.synthekine.com, and follow us on Twitter @synthekine and LinkedIn.