ImCheck secures $22.4m French funding for cancer antibody development

ImCheck Therapeutics has secured €20.18 million ($22.35 million) in non-dilutive funding from the French government to further its research and development efforts. This financial support is part of the "i-Démo" project initiative under the France 2030 Plan, administered by Bpifrance on behalf of the French government. The newly acquired funds will be directed towards advancing ImCheck's clinical pipeline, which includes a T cell-activating monoclonal antibody and a therapy aimed at treating infectious diseases.

ImCheck's prominent candidate is ICT01, a γ9δ2 T cell-activating monoclonal antibody targeting BTN2A (CD277). This antibody is currently undergoing Phase I/IIa clinical trials to assess its effectiveness against various solid tumors and blood cancers. Furthermore, ICT01 is being tested in combination with Merck & Co's checkpoint inhibitor, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), for patients with refractory solid tumors. Interim results from the Phase I/II EVICTION study (NCT04243499), which enrolled 21 patients with refractory melanoma, indicated three partial responses at 16 weeks and a 21% disease control rate. The most common adverse events were mild to moderate, including infusion-related reactions and cytokine release syndrome.

In addition to this, another open-label Phase I/II trial, EVICTION-2 (NCT05307874), is evaluating the combination of ICT01 and Clinigen’s low-dose subcutaneous interleukin-2 therapy, Proleukin (aldesleukin), for patients with advanced solid tumors. As of November 2023, data revealed that 19 patients had completed at least one treatment cycle, experiencing only mild to moderate adverse events and no dose-limiting toxicities.

This recent funding marks the fifth consecutive instance in which ImCheck has received financial backing from the French government. The support is part of France's larger €54 billion (approximately $59.8 billion) France 2030 Investment Plan, which aims to bolster strategic sectors, including healthcare.

Moreover, ImCheck is planning to allocate resources to further the development of another promising candidate, ICT41. This anti-BTN2A agnostic γ9δ2 T cell-activating monoclonal antibody is being explored as a potential therapy for bacterial and viral infections. This comes at a crucial time when investment in infectious disease research is on the rise, highlighted by recent events such as the mpox outbreak.

Overall, the funding from the French government is expected to provide significant momentum for ImCheck Therapeutics in advancing its clinical pipeline and potentially bringing new therapies to market.

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