Equillium's Poster Abstract Accepted by Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Equillium Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in immunobiology, recently announced that one of its abstracts has been accepted for a poster presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 39th Annual Meeting. The event is scheduled to be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, from November 6 to 10, 2024.

The accepted abstract, titled "Interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-21 synergistically enhance NK and CD8+ T cell responses," will be presented by Phoi Tiet, a Senior Research Associate at Equillium. The presentation, abstract number 908, is set to take place in Exhibit Halls A & B on November 9, 2024.

The abstract focuses on the significant role cytokines play in anti-cancer therapeutic development due to their ability to regulate anti-tumoral immune responses. Research highlighted in the abstract demonstrates that IL-15 and IL-21 can synergistically enhance the activities of NK and CD8 T cells, boosting their proliferation and cytolytic functions. This combination of cytokines has the potential to rescue T cell dysfunction, suggesting it could be a promising new approach for stimulating anti-tumor immune responses.

Equillium is developing a multi-cytokine platform that creates composite peptides designed to selectively block critical cytokines at the shared receptor level. This method aims to target harmful cytokines while preserving beneficial signaling, thereby avoiding the broad immunosuppression and off-target effects often associated with other treatments, such as Janus kinase inhibitors.

The platform's assets include EQ101 and EQ302. EQ101 is a first-in-class, selective, tri-specific inhibitor targeting IL-2, IL-9, and IL-15, and is currently in clinical stages for intravenous and subcutaneous delivery. EQ302 is a first-in-class, selective, bi-specific inhibitor targeting IL-15 and IL-21, and is in preclinical development for oral delivery. Both of these assets aim to offer novel treatment strategies for multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by selectively targeting pathogenic cytokines.

Equillium's diverse pipeline includes other promising therapeutics like Itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the CD6-ALCAM signaling pathway, which is crucial in modulating effector T cells. Itolizumab is currently undergoing a Phase 3 clinical study for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and showed positive results in a Phase 1b clinical study for lupus and lupus nephritis in April 2024. Equillium acquired the rights to Itolizumab through an exclusive partnership with Biocon Limited and has a strategic partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for its development and commercialization.

Equillium remains committed to leveraging its deep understanding of immunobiology to develop novel therapeutics aimed at treating severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The company's innovative approach to targeting immuno-inflammatory pathways holds the potential to address high unmet medical needs in these areas.