Iksuda Therapeutics, a developer of next-generation Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), has announced the first data on IKS01, its lead ADC.
An ADC targeting the folate receptor, IKS01 has shown significant anti-tumour efficacy in pre-clinical models of ovarian and lung tumours, each of which included a broad range of folate-receptor alpha (FRA) expression.
Potent cytotoxic payload
ADCs allow for the targeted delivery of a potent cytotoxic payload to tumours, resulting in selective killing with increased efficacy and less off-target toxicity than standard-of-care chemotherapies.
Frequent over-expression of FRA in ovarian and non-small-cell lung cancer (accounting for 80% of lung cancer cases) and relative lack of expression in normal tissue, make it an attractive therapeutic target. However, anti-tumour activity is generally limited to patients whose tumours express high levels of FRA.
IKS01 is an ADC comprised of an FRA-targeting antibody conjugated via Iksuda’s PermaLink technology to Femtogenix’s highly potent FGX2-62 payload.
Its is target specific and, according to Iksuda, these new data confirm that it is highly effective in causing tumour regression in FRA-expressing models at doses that are well-tolerated, significantly more active than a benchmark ADC and caused complete regressions in low/moderate FRA-expressing models.
The IKS01 data is a major advancement of Iksuda’s ADC drug pipeline, from which it aims to progress multiple candidates towards first clinical studies in 2020.
Dave Simpson PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Iksuda Therapeutics, said: “Ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly gynaecological cancers and lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death. The IKS01 data highlight the potential impact of our ADC pipeline by targeting difficult-to-treat tumours and advancing the current standard of care.”
