Crescendo Biologics secures $32M and announces expansion of CB307 Phase 1b trial in PSMA+ solid tumours

• $32 million additional capital raised, supported by all major existing investors and new investor Kreos Capital
• Ongoing Phase 1b trial of CB307 enhanced with additional pembrolizumab combination expansion cohort in PSMA+ solid tumours

CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crescendo Biologics Ltd (Crescendo), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing novel, targeted T cell enhancing therapeutics, today announces that it plans to augment the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial of CB307 through the addition of a new pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) combination expansion cohort. Additional financing of $32 million has been secured with the support of all major existing shareholders, including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group BioNTech, Takeda and Quan Capital, and new investor Kreos Capital to fund the additional combination expansion arm of the adaptive clinical protocol.

CB307, Crescendo’s lead proprietary programme, is now entering the cohort expansion part of the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial. The monotherapy expansion cohort is already underway in individuals with PSMA+ metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in a last-line setting. The additional pembrolizumab combination expansion cohort is expected to be initiated in Q3 2023 and will be open to those with PSMA+ mCRPC.

“We are delighted to have secured this additional financing which will enable us to accelerate the clinical development of CB307,” commented Theodora Harold, CEO at Crescendo Biologics. “Preclinical data generated by Crescendo, such as those recently presented at AACR in Orlando, as well as clinical data presented by others earlier this year, illustrate the profound effect that adding PD-1 antagonism can have to the co-stimulation of T cells, including via CD137 agonism. We are very excited to further investigate the activity of the combination of CB307 plus pembrolizumab in our clinical study and would like to thank everyone involved in the trial and our existing investors for their ongoing support as well as the team at Kreos Capital for joining us and sharing our vision.”

Sonia Benhamida, Principal at Kreos Capital commented, "We have been very impressed with the Crescendo team, and the power and potential of the Humabody^® V_H platform is evident across their proprietary and partnered programmes. Our investment model is ideally suited to Crescendo’s needs at this time, and we are pleased to partner with the Crescendo management team and to enable the acceleration and execution of the expanded clinical plan for CB307."

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About CB307

CB307 is a first-in-class, half-life extended, CD137 x PSMA bispecific, designed to deliver a safer and more durable T cell response to cancer, whilst avoiding systemic toxicity. The clinical programme for CB307 is underway in adults with PSMA positive solid tumours (NCT04839991). CB307 was developed by Crescendo using its unique, patent protected, transgenic mouse platform generating fully human V_H domain building blocks (Humabody^® V_H).

About Crescendo Biologics

Crescendo Biologics is a private, clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing novel, targeted T cell enhancing Humabody^® therapeutics.

Leading its proprietary pipeline, Crescendo Biologics has developed CB307, a novel half-life extended CD137 x PSMA Humabody for the selective activation of tumour-specific T cells exclusively within the tumour microenvironment.

The Company’s ability to develop multi-functional Humabody therapeutics is based on its unique, patent protected, transgenic mouse platform generating fully human V_H domain building blocks (Humabody V_H). These robust molecules can be configured to engage therapeutic targets in such a way that they deliver novel pharmacology and superior bio-distribution. This can lead to larger therapeutic windows compared to conventional IgG approaches. Humabody-based formats can also be applied across a range of non-cancer indications.

Beyond Crescendo’s proprietary pipeline, the Company has global, multi-target discovery and development collaborations with both Takeda and BioNTech and an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Zai Lab for ZL-1102 (formerly CB001, an anti-IL-17A targeting Humabody), which is expected to enter global Phase 2 clinical development in patients with psoriasis.

Crescendo Biologics is located in Cambridge, UK, and is backed by blue-chip investors including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group, BioNTech, Takeda, Quan Capital and Kreos Capital.

Please visit our website www.crescendobiologics.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @HUMABODY for more information.