iBio (NYSEA:IBIO) advanced its anti-CCR8 antibody immuno-oncology program into preclinical in vivo testing.
CCR8, a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family, is expressed by T-regulatory cells (Tregs) that play a crucial role in inducing immunosuppression across various cancer types.
GPCRs are one of the most successful therapeutic target classes, with approximately one-third of all approved drugs targeting these proteins.
Compared with small molecule-based GPCR drugs, antibody-based GPCR therapeutics potentially offer several potential advantages, including superior selectivity, extended mechanisms of action, and longer half-life.
However, GPCRs are intricate, multi-membrane spanning receptors, making clinically relevant regions difficult to identify and target.
iBio employed its patented AI epitope steering platform in the discovery of anti-CCR8 molecules to overcome certain challenges associated with developing antibody-based GPCR-targeting therapeutics.
iBio’s anti-CCR8 antibody is designed to selectively deplete Tregs, thereby allowing the immune system to effectively destroy cancer cells, without binding to CCR8’s closest neighbor, CCR4, significantly reducing the potential for adverse effects and safety issues associated with non-selective CCR8 antibodies.
“Selective targeting of CCR8 shows our patented AI technology can successfully be applied to one of the most important drug target classes, and potentially allows us to pursue a range of other high-value GPCR targets in the future,” Martin Brenner, DVM, Ph.D., interim CEO and CSO of iBio, said in a statement.
Dillon Phan, Ph.D., iBio’s VP and head of early research & development, said the new anti-CCR8 program expands the company’s Treg depletion franchise, which complements its existing IBIO-101 program.
IBIO-101 is an anti-CD25 antibody designed to selectively bind and deplete Tregs in the tumor microenvironment without compromising immunostimulatory interleukin 2 (IL2) signaling to other T cells, thereby generating strong anti-tumor responses.
“We look forward to F. Hoffmann-La Roche’s anticipated presentation of clinical data for its IL2-sparing anti-CD25 antibody, RG6292, at the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April, which we believe may validate IBIO-101 as a potential fast-follower,” he added.
