Lorigerlimab

Plus, news about Modulight Biotherapeutics, T-Therapeutics and EnGene: 🛑 MacroGenics cans PD-1xCTLA-4 bispecific in prostate cancer : The company said it would stop development of lorigerlimab in prostate cancer after looking at the interim data from a Phase 2 trial. The study was assessing the antibody on top of standard of care — chemo and steroids — in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The drug remains in Phase 2 development in ovarian and other gynecologic cancers. Elsewhere, MacroGenics said it would receive $50 million from Sanofi and $25 million from Gilead before the end of the year. These are licensing payments: Sanofi has rights to the type 1 diabetes immunotherapy Tzield, which was recently approved in the UK and China. Gilead extended an existing deal with MacroGenics to include a preclinical program based on its novel T cell engager platform. — Elizabeth Cairns 🤝 Third Arc Bio taps Adagene for two T cell engagers: Third Arc, a biotech led by former J&J oncology head Peter Lebowitz, will pay Adagene $5 million upfront in a deal that comes with up to $840 million in milestones. The partners will develop two ‘masked’ T cell engagers, for which Third Arc will get global rights. However, Suzhou and San Diego-based Adagene will have the option to develop the drugs in  Greater China, Singapore and South Korea. — Lei Lei Wu 🌱 Modulight Biotherapeutics scores $12.2M in seed funding : The round was led by Jibe Ventures and LocalGlobe, and the cash will help speed the development of Modulight’s optogenetic technology as well as move its therapeutic pipeline towards the clinic. — Elizabeth Cairns 💰 T-Therapeutics extends Series A to $91M : The additional funding of $32 million comes from new investors Tencent and BGF, plus all of the biotech’s existing major shareholders. The company will spend the money on advancing its novel TCR-CD3 bispecifics in cancer and autoimmune disease. — Elizabeth Cairns 💰 EnGene raises $130M in share sale : The offering follows the release of more positive pivotal data on enGene’s bladder cancer gene therapy, which drove the biotech’s share price up 65%. — Elizabeth Cairns

Despite giving up on vobra duo, MacroGenics CEO Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., said that the company still believes B7-H3 has “potential” as a target.\n MacroGenics has made the final decision to abandon work on one of its more advanced antibody-drug conjugates after taking a look at the latest phase 2 data.The biotech had already paused work on vobramitamab duocarmazine (vobra duo) back in November, explaining that it was awaiting progression-free survival (PFS) data from a phase 2 monotherapy prostate cancer trial. Vobra duo has a cleavable peptide linker designed to deliver a DNA-alkylating duocarmycin payload to solid tumors that express B7-H3.CEO Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., explained to investors at the time that the company would make a call on whether to invest further in vobra duo after considering the final PFS data, the therapy’s safety profile and the competitive landscape in the context of the rest of its pipeline.The results are now in, and they show a median radiographic PFS of 9.5 months and 10 months for the 2-mg/kg and 2.7-mg/kg doses, respectively. Safety data “remained consistent with prior data disclosures,” MacroGenics said in its full-year earnings results March 20.“Based on its assessment of the vobra duo safety and efficacy profile and an internal resource and portfolio review, MacroGenics has decided not to pursue further internal development of vobra duo and will instead explore potential alternatives for partnering this program,” the company said in the release.Despite giving up on vobra duo, Koenig said the company still believes B7-H3 has “potential” as a target, adding that the biotech is “pleased with the progress being made with our alternate anti-B7-H3 ADC, MGC026.” MGC026, which is a TOP1i-based ADC, is undergoing a phase 1 dose-escalation study in patients with advanced solid tumors. The biotech also has another ADC in the clinic in the form of MGC028, a TOP1i-based ADC that targets ADAM9 and recently started a phase 1 study in solid tumors.MacroGenics is awaiting a readout later this year for lorigerlimab, a PD-1xCTLA-4 bispecific that the company is testing in a phase 2 prostate cancer trial in combination with docetaxel.“We concluded 2024 with the achievement of multiple clinical development milestones, including the completion of enrollment in the LORIKEET phase 2 study evaluating lorigerlimab in combination with docetaxel in patients with mCRPC,” Koenig said in yesterday\'s postmarket release.“We look forward to building upon this momentum in 2025 as we work to advance our novel pipeline of clinical product candidates, including lorigerlimab, MGC026 and MGC028,” the CEO added.MacroGenics entered the year with $201.7 million in the bank, which the company expects to last into the second half of 2026.