Nex-I Co. Ltd.

NEX-I focuses on overcoming the limitations of standard cancer treatments by targeting the underlying causes of refractory cancers. Credit: AshTproductions / Shutterstock.com. Ono Pharmaceutical has signed an exclusive licence agreement for the development and marketing of NEX-I’s new cancer therapy, NXI-101. An antibody drug candidate, NXI-101 targets the cancer immunotherapy-resistant factor ONCOKINE-1. The target was discovered through NEX-I leveraging its target screening ONCOKINE platform. It has potential efficacy against a range of cancer types, including those resistant to current cancer immunotherapies. Ono will gain exclusive global rights to NXI-101 and its backup antibodies. See Also: MorphoSys files patent for antibodies for treating inflammatory, autoimmune diseases, or cancer Kura Oncology files patent for combination treatment for head and neck cancer NEX-I is eligible to receive upfront payment, development and commercialisation milestone payments, apart from tiered royalty payments based on net product sales. Ono Pharmaceutical discovery and research senior executive officer and executive director Toichi Takino stated: “We are pleased to collaborate with NEX-I having a proprietary ONCOKINE platform for development and commercialisation of NXI-101. We expect NXI-101 to be a new treatment option for cancer patients. “Leveraging Ono’s experience and expertise in cancer immunotherapy, we will work on the development of the compound to add it to our development pipeline in oncology.” A Korean biotechnology company established in 2021, NEX-I focuses on overcoming the limitations of standard cancer treatments by targeting the underlying causes of refractory cancers. NEX-I CEO Kyoung Wan Yoon stated: “This collaboration aligns with NEX-I’s strategic focus on novel target discovery and the advancement of our flagship tumour microenvironment modulator, NXI-101. “Through this landmark partnership, we underscore our commitment to identifying and developing novel and differentiated therapies that promise substantial benefits for patients. “Our alliance with Ono represents a significant step forward for our ONCOKINE platform to assemble a diverse portfolio of clinical candidates across a broad range of mechanisms and therapeutic targets.” The latest development comes after Ono entered a collaboration with Epsilon Molecular Engineering (EME) to advance drug discovery in the variable heavy domain of heavy chain antibodies. The collaboration will utilise EME’s humanised VHH [the variable domain of heavy-chain IgG2 and IgG3] screening platform, known as The Month, to generate new antibodies for targets selected by Ono.

Boston, MA – Xsphera Biosciences, a leading biotechnology company specializing in ex vivo testing of oncology therapeutics on patient-excised tumor tissue, is pleased to announce the formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NEX-I, a Seoul-based pioneer in immune-oncology therapeutics. This partnership represents a significant step forward in oncology drug research and development. At the heart of this partnership lies Xsphera's innovative technology, exclusively licensed from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Xsphera’s technology maintains each patient’s tumor microenvironment in an ex vivo platform directly from a fresh excisional tumor biopsy. Over the past year, Xsphera has played a pivotal role in advancing NEX-I’s pipeline by assessing the performance of NEX-I mono and combination therapies on patient tumor samples. Additionally, the companies have leveraged Xsphera’s cloud analytics platform to jointly explore molecular pathways modulated by the multiple therapeutic treatments, aiming to comprehend the mechanisms of action and resistance for each treatment across a diverse set of patient samples. NEX-I is advancing the development of 'NXI-101', a notable first-in-class antibody drug targeting 'ONCOKINE-1', a factor produced by cancer cells that contributes to the resistance of cancer cells to cancer immunotherapy. With treatments like NXI-101 designed to counter these resistance factors, NEXI aims to bolster the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, NEX-I is diligently working to expedite its entry into global clinical markets. Stephen Remondi, CEO of Xsphera Biosciences, remarked, "This MOU underscores our shared commitment to deepen our collaboration. We are excited to further our understanding of immune modulation in response to NEX-I therapeutics as well as to discover new therapeutic targets in oncology that is enabled by comparing the modulated responses of different therapeutics on tumor tissue from the same patient. " Importantly, this partnership is set to deliver tangible benefits to cancer patients by tailoring treatments to their unique biological responses, thereby improving treatment outcomes and personalizing the battle against cancer." CEO, Kyoung Wan Yoon, stated, “NXI-101 is on the verge of entering clinical trials next year. On top of our animal data, validating the efficacy and mechanism of NXI-101 through our collaborative research with Xsphera increases our likelihood of clinical success, and will deliver real-world value to patients. Furthermore, through this research collaboration, we aim to verify the possibility of developing companion diagnostic biomarkers for the NXI-101 treatment and accelerate the pace of technological and business growth globally." About Xsphera Biosciences: Xsphera Biosciences is a biotechnology company dedicated to bridging the translational gap between animal models and human clinical trials for oncology therapeutics. Through collaboration with Dana-Farber, Xsphera has developed a revolutionary fresh human tumor tissue-based platform that enables the assessment of therapeutic efficacy across various cancer indications and drug modalities. Integrating this ex vivo biology capability with its AI-powered cloud analytics platform, Xsphera can reveal the underlying mechanisms of action and resistance in the tumor microenvironment, providing invaluable insights into human biology and clinical trial strategy. For more information, please visit the Xsphera website at . About NEX-I: NEX-I is breaking ground in the fight against cancer with its next-generation therapies targeting immunotherapy-resistant cancers. Leveraging its proprietary platform, NEX-I has developed robust models for immunotherapy-refractory cancers to analyze their characteristics and identify novel therapeutic targets comprehensively. This unique and dedicated research has led to the discovery of a series of soluble targets, ONCOKINE, which highly expresses and plays a critical role in refractory cellular mechanisms through the proprietary screening platform. NEX-I proposes a new standardized solution to inhibit cancer cell growth and metastasis by suppressing them. Learn more at . A copy of the White Paper describing NXI-101 and the results from Xsphera platform can be found here: For further information, please contact: Xsphera Biosciences Inc. Kazuhito Ishikawa Vice President, Sales and Business development kazu@xspherabio.com