Crescendo Biologics and IAG announce partnership in development of novel, targeted T cell enhancing immuno-oncology therapeutics.
Cambridge, UK and London, UK – 19 April 2021 – Crescendo Biologics Ltd (Crescendo), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing novel, targeted T cell enhancing therapeutics, and Image Analysis Group (IAG), a bio-pharma imaging expert, today announce a collaboration to employ advanced imaging techniques in the phase I clinical study of CB307, Crescendo’s Humabody® T cell enhancer.
IAG has significant expertise in medical imaging and proprietary image analysis methodologies to support drug development. The phase I clinical study of CB307, Crescendo’s lead programme, in patients with a range of PSMA positive tumour types is now open (NCT04839991), and IAG’s proprietary imaging data analytics will be used as part of the efficacy analyses in this trial.
CB307 is a unique, half-life extended Humabody® targeting PSMA and the potent co-stimulatory molecule CD137 (4-1BB). Monospecific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against CD137 have been shown to enhance T cell activity in clinical studies as cancer therapy but have also shown treatment-limiting hepatotoxicity. CB307 is designed to enable potent, tumour-specific T cell activation whilst avoiding the systemic toxicity associated with monospecific mAbs.
Dr Diana Dupont-Roettger, Chief Scientific Alliance Officer at IAG, commented:
“Targeted imaging methods are excellent tools to focus radiological response assessment. During the clinical study we will use highly specific, non-invasive biomarkers that specifically and quantitatively evaluate how tumours respond to CB307. Imaging data analytics will further support the identification of treatment responders to this novel therapy.”
Dr Kenji Hashimoto, CMO of Crescendo Biologics, said:
“We are delighted to see CB307 progress into the clinic. Advanced imaging can provide insights into the molecular mechanism of a drug and its interaction with a cancer, which are critical for immunotherapeutic drug development. This collaboration is expected to help accelerate the clinical development of CB307 for patients with PSMA positive tumours.”
Crescendo Biologics is a 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. CB307 is designed to achieve a longer lasting anticancer effect whilst avoiding systemic toxicity.
The Company’s ability to develop multi-functional Humabody® therapeutics is based on its unique, patent protected, transgenic mouse platform generating 100% human VH domain building blocks (Humabody® VH). These robust molecules can be configured to engage therapeutic targets in such a way that they deliver novel biology and superior bio-distribution. This results in larger therapeutic windows compared to conventional IgG approaches. Humabody®-based formats can also be applied across a range of non-cancer indications.
Crescendo Biologics is located in Cambridge, UK, and is backed by blue-chip investors including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group, Takeda Ventures, Quan Capital and Astellas.
For more information, please visit www.crescendobiologics.com and follow @HUMABODY.
IAG, Image Analysis Group is a unique clinical development partner to life sciences companies. We broadly leverage our proprietary image analysis methodologies, power of our cloud platform DYNAMIKA, years of experience in AI and Machine Learning as well as bespoke co-development business models to ensure higher probability for promising therapeutics to reach the patients. Our independent Bio-Partnering division fuses risk-sharing business models and agile culture to accelerate novel drug development.
For more information about IAG: wp1.ia-grp.com/.
Crescendo Biologics
Kenji Hashimoto, CMO
+ 44 (0)1223 497140
Instinctif Partners
Melanie Toyne-Sewell, Dr Christelle Kerouedan
+ 44 (0)20 7457 2020
Image Analysis Group
Dr Diana Dupont-Roettger, Chief Scientific Alliance Officer
+44 7413 022053