7:30 am Check-In & Coffee
8:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Workshop Morning
8:30 am Designing Cytokine Mimetics to Understand and Shape Future Immune Therapies
Synopsis
- Join this workshop to gain a better understanding of cytokines, their role in disease, and potential for future therapies and apply this knowledge to design synthetic cytokines:
- Understanding the biology of cytokines, their role in disease, and how they can be leveraged for the development of cytokine-based therapeutics
- Exploring the structure and function of cytokines and how to apply this knowledge to design synthetic variants with optimized therapeutic properties
- Discussing strategies to design cytokine mimetics therapeutics with computational protein design
- Discovering approaches to engineer and tune cytokine mimetics to enhance activity, improve specificity (e.g., cell bias), and minimize toxicities
- Improving the biophysical properties of designed cytokines for better manufacturability and scalability 10.30 Morning Break & Speed Networking Expanding the Application of Cytokine-based Drugs Beyond Oncology to Immunology & Inflammation Indications
10:30 am Morning Break & Speed Networking
Expanding the Application of Cytokine-based Drugs Beyond Oncology to Immunology & Inflammation Indications
11:00 am Overview of the Challenges and Strategies for Developing Cytokine-based Drugs for Immunology & Inflammation Indications
Synopsis
- Discussing the challenges of targeting cytokines with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties, such as IL-10
- Exploring strategies for decoupling these effects, such as receptor engineering, combination therapies, and context-dependent modulation
- Reviewing strategies for improved targeted delivery systems for Cytokine-based drugs
11:30 am Examining the Complexities of Cytokine Biology in Immunological Disorders
Synopsis
- Investigating the pleiotropic effects of cytokines and the challenges of targeting specific immune cell populations and pathways
- Exploring the concept of cytokine networks and the importance of understanding the complex interactions between different cytokines
- Examining previous clinical data regarding successful and unsuccessful cytokine-based therapies for anti-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Following the clinical data to engineer new cytokine therapies for these diseases
12:00 pm The benefits of fusing uniquely attenuated IL-18 variants to an array of protein therapeutics with different mechanisms of action for oncology and autoimmune disease
Synopsis
- Using a new mechanism of action to engineer IL-18 variants with optimal on-target activity
- The benefit of fusing an IL-18 variant to anti-PD1 to generate not only a targeted cytokine but also an enhanced checkpoint inhibitor
- The benefit of fusing an IL-18 variant with or without attenuated IL-15 to ADCC-competent antibodies and cell engagers in both oncology and autoimmune settings
12:30 pm Lunch Break & Networking
Navigating the Challenges of Animal Models in Cytokine-Based Drug Development to Increase Translatability
1:30 pm Evaluating the Utility of Existing Animal Models in Predicting Cytokineassociated Safety Signals with Novel & Targeted Therapies
Synopsis
Discussing the importance of animal models in understanding the pharmacology and toxicology of cytokines, emphasizing the need for models that accurately reflect cytokine-mediated responses
Reviewing the successes of approved therapeutics that overcame cytokine challenges in the translational stage
Using quantitative systems pharmacology models driven by cytokine data to characterize relationships between efficacy and safety in early drug development
2:00 pm Improving the Translational Relevance of Animal Models in Cytokine Therapies
Synopsis
- Exploring the use of novel technologies, such as humanized mice, to create more physiologically relevant models for studying cytokine-mediated effects
- Understanding the importance of considering the tumor microenvironment and the immune context in animal model designs
- Examining STK-012 Phase 1 clinical data: Learning how to improve the translation relevance of the first-in-class α/β IL-2 receptor-biased partial agonist for the treatment of advanced solid tumors
2:30 pm Panel Discussion
Synopsis
Discussing the key challenges and opportunities in animal models for cytokine drug development to overcome the translation phase and succeed in the clinic Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with the panelists