Synthekine Announces AACR 2026 Oral Presentation of Updated Phase 1a/1b Clinical and Translational Data for STK‑012 in First‑Line Nonsquamous NSCLC with Features of Immunotherapy Resistance

• STK-012 is an α/β biased IL-2 precision immunotherapy designed to specifically stimulate antigen activated T cells
• Updated clinical and translational results for STK‑012 plus pembrolizumab and chemotherapy will be presented, demonstrating potential to benefit first‑line nonsquamous NSCLC patients whose tumors have features of immune resistance
• Immune resistance features include PD-L1 negative tumor histology, STK11 mutations, and STK11/KEAP1 co-mutations

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Synthekine Inc., an engineered cytokine therapeutics company, today announced that updated clinical and translational data from a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of its α/β biased IL-2 partial agonist, STK-012, will be presented in an oral presentation at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026 taking place in San Diego, CA from April 17 - 22, 2026. In this now fully enrolled study, STK-012 is being evaluated in combination with standard-of-care pembrolizumab + chemotherapy in first-line nonsquamous (NSQ) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with features of immune resistance such as PD-L1 negative histology and STK11/KEAP1 mutations.

“We are encouraged to share updated clinical and translational data from first‑line NSQ NSCLC patients treated with STK‑012, building on our prior oral presentation at SITC 2025 and further supporting our novel and differentiated, α/β‑biased IL‑2 approach to precision immunotherapy,” said Debanjan Ray, chief executive officer of Synthekine. “40% or more of newly diagnosed NSQ NSCLC patients have features of immune resistance, including PD‑L1‑negative histology or STK11/KEAP1 mutations, and typically derive limited benefit from standard‑of‑care chemoimmunotherapy. We believe STK‑012, in combination with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy, has the potential to meaningfully improve outcomes in this underserved patient population, and we look forward to presenting these updated data at AACR. Development of STK-012 is ongoing in our SYNERGY-101 study, a global, randomized Phase 2 trial which is currently enrolling patients.”

Details are as follows and are available in the AACR Online Program Planner:

Title: Selective immune activation of antigen activated T cells with STK-012, an a/b IL-2 receptor biased partial agonist, with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in 1L PD-L1 negative non-squamous NSCLC
Session Title: Immunotherapy: Mechanisms and Responses
Session Date & Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 PM PT
Location: Listed in the AACR Online Program Planner
Abstract Number: 6740

A copy of the presentation 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 therapeutic areas to create a broad and deep pipeline of product candidates. These novel immunotherapies include modified cytokines and surrogate cytokine agonists. For more information, visit www.synthekine.com, and follow us on X @synthekine and LinkedIn.