- PHST001 demonstrates potent in vivo antitumor activity for macrophage-induced phagocytosis and does not induce cytokine release in vitro
- Pheast is on track to initiate clinical trials with PHST001 in the first half of 2025
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#SITC24--Pheast Therapeutics (“Pheast”), a biotech developing novel macrophage checkpoint therapies to defy cancer, today announced the presentation of new preclinical data for PHST001, an anti-CD24 antibody drug candidate that is designed to block a key macrophage “don’t eat me” signal on cancer cells. The data were presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) taking place both virtually and at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from November 6-10, 2024.
The presented data show that PHST001, through potent CD24 binding, promotes macrophage-induced phagocytosis in a number of cancer cells and significantly shrinks tumors in vivo. In addition, PHST001 has a favorable PK profile in non-human primates and does not induce immune-mediated toxicity in vitro.
“These data build on the results we presented earlier this year at PEGS showing that PHST001 can powerfully induce an anti-cancer immune response and drive therapeutic efficacy in challenging mouse model systems,” said Roy Maute, Ph.D., Cofounder and CEO, Pheast Therapeutics. “Macrophage checkpoint therapies such as PHST001 have the potential to expand clinical options for patients in high unmet need oncology indications where other immunotherapies have not yet been successful.”
CD24 is highly expressed by many human cancers, including ovarian and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and high expression of CD24 is a negative prognostic factor in multiple cancer indications. CD24 interacts with the macrophage receptor Siglec-10, and shields cancer cells from attack by macrophages. Pheast has engineered PHST001 to bind CD24 on the surface of cancer cells with high affinity and specificity and to block Siglec-10 binding.
“The preclinical data demonstrate the potential of PHST001 to address multiple cancer types, and its differentiation as a novel macrophage checkpoint inhibitor with potent inhibition of CD24,” said Suzana Kahn, Ph.D., Senior Director, Biology at Pheast Therapeutics. “PHST001 does not have a toxic preclinical profile, which, combined with its superior efficacy in our preclinical models, supports the initiation of first-in-human clinical trials.”
Dr. Kahn presented these data in a poster presentation entitled, “PHST001, a humanized anti-CD24 antibody, induces phagocytosis of human tumor cells in vitro and tumor clearance in vivo.”
About Pheast Therapeutics
Pheast is a preclinical stage immuno-oncology company focused on targeting immune evasion pathways to activate the innate immune system to defy cancer and help patients thrive. Founded and led by scientific experts in innate immunity and cancer immunotherapy, Pheast is developing novel immunotherapies for some of the most difficult-to-treat and aggressive cancers, including ovarian cancer and triple negative breast cancer. For more info, visit www.pheast.com.
Contacts
Company: Roy Maute, Ph.D., contact@pheast.com
Media: Jessica Yingling, Ph.D., jessica@litldog.com
