8:20 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Addressing Failures Across Cytokine Based Drug Development to Examine the Evolving Industry & Highlight Exciting Novel Directions for the Field
8:30 am Exploring the Cytokine Therapeutics Landscape: Where Are We Now?
Synopsis
- Overview of the oncology and non-oncology cytokine-based drug development landscape, both preclinical and clinical
- Analyzing and evaluating companies exiting the field or dropping cytokine pipelines
- Outlining novel cytokine engineering strategies
9:00 am Engineered PD1-IL15 Improves Intratumoral CD8+ T cell Function and Antitumor Immunity
Synopsis
- Designing PD1-IL15 to deliver stimulation to PD1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) while minimally affecting circulating peripheral natural killer (NK) cells and T cells
- The PD1-IL15 mouse surrogate promotes CD8 T cell-dependent anti-tumor Immunity
- Enhancing efficacy compared to the combination of aPD1 with an IL-15 Superagonist
9:30 am A Brief History of the Cytokine Field: New Frontiers for Cytokine Based Drug Development
Synopsis
- Delving into previous experiences from cytokine therapeutic development across the years
- Identifying early approaches that had limited success
- Evaluating novel innovations driving more sophisticated cytokine development
10:00 am Speed Networking & Morning Break
Uncover Positive Clinical Updates & Hear Key Translational Learnings from the Journey to the Clinic
11:00 am Updating the Clinical Progress of DK210 (EGFR), Fusing IL-10 With wtIL-2 to Prevent Toxicity & Enhance Potency
Synopsis
- Treating patients with cold tumors has already elicited potent peripheral immune activation leading to confirmed stable disease of stage 4 PDAC, and unconfirmed stable disease of patients with stage 4 CRC
- Indicating DK210 (EGFR) has successfully blunted IL-2 inflammatory toxicity while retaining potent immunological activation and dramatically improved its therapeutic index
- Outlining how responses stimulated in a predictive in vitro assay correlate with patient anti-tumor responses on therapy, suggesting the capacity to select patients that are most likely to respond
11:30 am Outlining XTX202, A Tumor-Activated IL-2βγ in Clinical Development for Solid Tumors
Synopsis
- Designing the molecule and key components
- Emerging clinical data on tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
- Exploring clinical anti-tumor activity
12:00 pm Exploring how BPT567 (PD1-IL18) Induces Potent Anti-tumor Immune Responses
Synopsis
- Revealing BPT567 as an immunoconjugate (IC) consisting of an IL-18 binding protein-resistant IL-18 payload that is chemically conjugated to a PD-1-blocking antibody
- Triggering a profound expansion of intratumoral PD1+ CD8+ T effector memory cells accompanied by a high local induction of IFNg release within the tumor microenvironment.
- Outlining BPT567 exhibiting a strong anti-tumor efficacy at remarkably low doses of the IL-18 payload, which can be attributed to its ability to potently induce cis-signaling in PD-1+ T cells.
12:30 pm Lunch Break & Networking
Interrogating Our Understanding of Cytokine Mechanisms to Develop Targeted Cytokine-Based Therapeutics
1:30 pm Revealing Cytomask®: Cis-Demasking Cytokine Technology for Targeted Delivery
Synopsis
- Outlining masking cytokine technology, allowing activity on-demand at the Right Site but suffers from enzyme selectivity
- Cis-delivery cytokine technology allows redirection of activity on the right cells but requires potent cytokine attenuation and non-optimal cell selectivity
- Cytomask® is a novel Cis-Demasking cytokine technology avoiding cytokine attenuation and lack of selectivity of cleavable linkers to unmask cytokine specifically on immune cells expressing the appropriate target
2:00 pm Precision Engineering of Cytokine Therapeutics by Measuring Protein Interactions at Scale With AlphaSeq
Synopsis
- Utilizing AlphaSeq, a tool for massive PPI data generation, IFNA2 and IL-21 cytokine variants are engineered with varied affinities for human and mouse receptors, guiding precision development of cancer therapeutics with reduced systemic toxicity
- Exploring protein affinities and signaling potencies were orthogonally measured using biolayer interferometry and human PBMC phosflow assays, leading to the fusion of promising cytokines with anti-CD8 antibodies, significantly enhancing signaling potency in targeted cells
- Enabling the creation of a therapeutic matrix of cytokines and antibodies, enhancing specificity and efficacy in targeted cancer treatments in immuno-oncology
2:30 pm Blockade of Common Gamma Chain Cytokine Signaling With REGN7257, an Interleukin 2 Receptor Gamma (IL2RG) Monoclonal Antibody
Synopsis
- Blockade of cytokine signalling protected mice against immune cell-mediated pathology in multiple disease models
- Providing evidence of γc cytokines as key drivers of pathogenic immune cell responses
- Offering a potentially novel strategy for the management of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as GVHD, immune aplastic anemia and MS
3:00 pm Poster Session & Networking
Synopsis
Take a break from the formal presentations and join your peers in the cytokine field by presenting your work in our dedicated poster session. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss, debate and display your work in the field!
Engineering Your Molecule for Enhanced Specificity, Reduced Toxicity & a Widened Therapeutic Index
4:00 pm New Cytokine Targeting Strategies Enabled by Multivalent Cis-Targeted Complexes
Synopsis
- Introducing how tetravalent, cis-targeting cytokine-Fc fusions have unique selectivity advantages
- Outlining a computational model to coordinately engineer targeting alongside signal quality and potency
- Demonstrating that selectively delivering various cytokines enables optimization for specific immune functionalities
4:30 pm Harnessing mRNA-encoded Cytokines as Immune Therapeutics for a Focused Immune Response
Synopsis
- Engineered cytokines encoded by nucleoside modified mRNA and delivered in LNPs enables tailored and focused immune therapeutics
- Multiplexing a myriad of cytokines by the mRNA/LNP platform allows next-generation broad immunomodulation for clinical benefit
- Providing examples of harnessing mRNA technology for manipulating the immune response via cytokines for autoimmune and inflammatory disease
5:00 pm Design of Cytokine/antibody Fusion Proteins to Develop Novel Immunotherapeutics
Synopsis
- Linking interleukin-2 (IL-2) to an anti-IL-2 antibody modulates cytokine behavior for selective and effective disease targeting
- Cytokine pleiotropy allows for development of interventions against cancer, infection, and autoimmune diseases
- Structural insights guide engineering of cytokine/antibody fusion proteins to optimize assembly, stability, and therapeutic activity
5:30 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks
5:40 pm End of Conference Day One
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