Nectin Therapeutics team. (Photo Nectin Therapeutics)
Nectin Therapeutics Ltd., an Israeli medtech startup that is developing novel targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, extended its Series A financing to over $25 million with investments led by IBF and Peregrine Ventures. At the same time, Nectin announced the dosing of the first patient in its Phase 1 clinical trial of NTX1088, Nectin’s first-in-class PVR (CD155) blocker, in cancer patients with locally advanced and metastatic solid tumors.
Nectin Therapeutics’ trial is being conducted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) with an investment from the Cancer Focus Fund, LP. The trial will include up to 90 patients treated with NTX1088 as a monotherapy and in combination with a PD-1 blocker.
Founded in 2017, Nectin Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on unlocking the power of the immune system. We are developing a collection of next-generation immunotherapy agents.
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Nectin Therapeutics explains that despite the unprecedented efficacy of existing immunotherapy agents, many patients either fail to respond, or following encouraging initial response, develop resistance over time. At Nectin, we have discovered novel resistance mechanisms and developed novel agents targeting these mechanisms for improved therapy.
“PVR blockade by NTX1088, with its first-in-class differentiated mechanism of action, has demonstrated compelling preclinical anti-tumor activity both as a monotherapy and in combination with other cancer immunotherapies,” said Dr. Pini Tsukerman, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Nectin. “Importantly, NTX1088 has potent activity in ICI refractive models where TIGIT or PD-1 blockade has failed to show a benefit.”
“Nectin has developed a highly innovative pipeline that has the potential to fundamentally overcome the limitations of existing IO therapies, delivering new treatment options for patients suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers, and we look forward to the results of the Phase 1 clinical trial of NTX1088,” said Fabian Tenenbaum, CEO at Nectin Therapeutics.
Nectin Therapeutics said the Phase 1 trial is an open-label study consisting of a dose escalation stage in up to 50 patients and an expansion stage in 40 patients. NTX1088 will be investigated as a single agent and in combination with a PD-1 blocker. The primary objectives of the dose escalation stage are to assess safety and tolerability and to select a recommended safe and effective Phase 2 dose. In the expansion stage, NTX1088’s safety and tolerability will be further evaluated, along with efficacy measures and exploratory assessments of pharmacodynamic and predictive biomarkers. Dr. Sarina Piha-Paul, Associate Professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson is the trial Principal Investigator.
