Ichnos is currently evaluating two T cell engagers in clinical trials that are based on the BEAT® 1.0 bispecific antibody (bsAb) platform (Bispecific Engagement by Antibodies based on the T-cell receptor). To further improve the platform and in particular increase the ease of scalability, the Ichnos’ BEAT® 2.0 next generation bsAb platform addresses potential light chain mispairing with common light chain (cLc) technology. We have generated a range of multispecific antibodies having the potential to tackle more complex molecular and cellular mechanisms whilst maintaining favorable developability profiles.

Identifying and Cloning Neoepitope Specific, CD4+ T Cells from Newly Diagnosed Glioma Patients in a Phase I Vaccination Trial Targeting Mutant IDH1 Mutated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) defines a molecularly distinct subtype of diffuse gliomas, and in previous work we showed that vaccinating mice with an IDH1.R132H-specific peptide induced tumor-specific therapeutic T helper cell responses and subsequent tumors control. In a multicenter, single-arm, open-label, first-in-man phase I trial involving vaccinating 33 patients with grade 3 and 4 IDH1.R132H+ve astrocytomas we were able to show vaccine-induced immune responses in 93.3 % of patients. By combining scRNA- and T cell receptor (TCR)-sequencing, we were able to identify and clone TCRs from patients, and have gone on to show that these are IDH1.R132H reactive. These results provide new hope for patients with IDH1.R132H mutated brain tumours, and point towards future applications of such TCRs in (personalised) adoptive cell therapies.

Neogene Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of next-generation, fully personalized engineered T cell therapies for a broad spectrum of cancers. The Company’s engineered T cells target tumor-specific mutation-derived neo-antigens, that render tumor cells vulnerable to detection and destruction by T cells. Neogene’s proprietary technology platform aims to identify T cell receptor genes with specificity for neo-antigens from tumor biopsies. Neogene’s novel approach intends to deliver a tailored set of T cell receptor genes for each individual patient, which will be engineered into patient-derived T cells directing them towards neo-antigens in tumor cells, with the goal of providing a fully personalized engineered T cell therapy for cancer.