Preclinical Data Demonstrate CBX-15’s Anti-Tumor Efficacy in Animal Models and Ability to Enhance Immunogenicity and Induce Immune Memory through pH-Based Tumor Targeting
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cybrexa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology biotechnology company developing a novel class of tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics, today announced it will present data findings on its preclinical candidate, CBX-15 (alphalex™-MMAE) for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer in a poster session at the 35th AACR-NCI-EORTC (ANE) Symposium. The event is taking place October 11-15, 2023, in Boston, Massachusetts.
“In this preclinical study, CBX-15 demonstrated anti-tumor activity and efficacy without toxicity,” said Vishwas Paralkar, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Cybrexa Therapeutics. “These compelling data instill confidence and align with the Company’s strategy to progress CBX-15 to Phase 1 clinical trials in 1Q of 2024. This achievement marks a pivotal milestone in our evolving therapeutic pipeline and offers optimism for the future landscape of cancer treatment.”
CBX-15 rapidly regressed tumors in animal models, resulting in complete responses without damaging healthy tissues such as bone marrow, and invoked an increased resistance to live tumor rechallenge and a doubling of bone marrow-resident CD4 T-cells 50 days post-dose.
Details for the poster session are as follows:
Abstract Title: Evaluation of antigen-agnostic anti-tumor activity and immunological memory induced by CBX-15 (alphalexTM-MMAE) in the rat syngeneic breast cancer model
Poster Number: B141
Session: Poster Session B
Session Date and Time: Friday, October 13, 2023 | 12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Session Location: Level 2, Exhibit Hall D
About the study
This study evaluated the efficacy and anti-tumor immunological memory induced by CBX-15 in animal models bearing syngeneic 13762 mammary adenocarcinoma tumors (N= 344). The development of anti-tumor immunological memory was examined in CBX-15-cured subjects by in vivo/ex vivo rechallenge with live tumor cells and subsequent assessment of tumor rejection, cytokine release by T-cells, tumor immune cell infiltration, and memory T-cell composition of bone marrow.
About CBX-15
CBX-15 is a peptide-drug conjugate consisting of alphalex™–monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). The alphalex™ is a unique variant of pH-Low Insertion Peptide1 (pHLIP®) designed to target the low pH microenvironment of cancer cells, a universal feature of all rapidly growing tumors. The peptide of CBX-15 forms an alpha helix only in low pH conditions, resulting in unidirectional insertion of the peptide and delivery of MMAE across the cancer cell membrane, and avoidance of delivery to healthy tissues, including immune cells.
About the alphalex™ Technology Platform
The Cybrexa alphalex™ technology is a novel antigen-independent, peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) platform that enables targeted delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments and aims to revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. The platform consists of a pH-Low Insertion Peptides (pHLIPs®) peptide, linker, and small molecule anti-cancer agent. pHLIP peptides are a family of pH-Low Insertion Peptides that target acidic cell surfaces. pHLIP was developed at Yale University and the University of Rhode Island, and is exclusively licensed to pHLIP, Inc., and Cybrexa is a sublicensee of pHLIP, Inc.
About Cybrexa
Cybrexa is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel antigen-independent tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics. The company is led by a dynamic team of highly successful life science entrepreneurs and veteran drug development scientists. Cybrexa investors include Advantage Capital Connecticut, Connecticut Innovations, Elm Street Ventures and HighCape Capital. It is on a mission to create therapeutics that revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. Cybrexa’s robust pipeline aims to combat breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer and a range of other tumors. Its assets are built on Cybrexa’s alphalex™ technology platform, which enables intracellular delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments. Cybrexa is based in New Haven, Conn. and was founded in 2017. For more information about Cybrexa, please visit www.cybrexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Contact:
Per Hellsund, CEO, Cybrexa Therapeutics
860-799-1517
[email protected]
Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, TellMed Strategies
908-884-7024
[email protected]
1 Wyatt LC, Lewis JS, Andreev OA, Reshetnyak YK, Engleman DM. Applications of pHLIP Technology for Cancer Imaging and Therapy. Trends Biotechnol. 2017. 35(7):653-664.