Abstract

Immuno-STATs™: A Novel Biologics Platform for Antigen-Specific Immunotherapy

Saso Cemersk, Senior Director, CUE Biopharma

Immuno-STATs are proprietary biologics that incorporate, in a single molecular framework, key signals needed to selectively modulate antigen-specific T cells: namely, the pMHC-complex and relevant co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory signals, dependent upon the disease indication. The modularity and versatility of the platform allows for incorporation of diverse HLA alleles, different T cell epitopes along with various biologically relevant activating or regulatory signals. This ability to generate polyspecific therapeutic molecules enables targeting diverse geographical patient populations encompassing numerous disease indications. Harnessing selective immune-targeting while avoiding broad non-specific modulation of the immune system should provide a superior safety and therapeutic profile. Mechanistic data to this end will be discussed. The lead clinical candidate CUE-101 is comprised of HLA-A*0201, genetically bound to a HPV16 epitope (E7 protein, peptide 11-20), along with affinity-attenuated human interleukin-2 to selectively activate and expand HPV16 E711-20-specific CD8+ T cells for HPV-driven malignancies.