ST. LOUIS & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wugen, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies, today presented new data from its best-in-class memory natural killer (NK) cell therapy platform at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting. The presentation highlighted the preclinical development and proprietary manufacturing details of Wugen’s lead product candidate WU-NK-101 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (r/r) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The findings presented at SITC support development of WU-NK-101 as an off-the-shelf therapy for r/r AML and solid tumor indications.
“These data showcase our differentiated approach to off-the-shelf cell therapies for cancer,” said Dan Kemp, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Wugen. “Our memory NK cell platform is uniquely designed to overcome the limitations of existing cell therapy alternatives by delivering enhanced function, persistence, and ultimately efficacy without the need for feeder cells during the manufacturing process. Eliminating this step simplifies the process and allows us to deliver a safer product. We have prioritized manufacturing from the start and are proud that today’s data underscores our preparedness to deliver our product at-scale and provide powerful treatments to patients.”
Today’s presentation highlighted the following:
- WU-NK-101 memory NK cells demonstrated robust cytotoxic efficacy in vitro, producing high levels of immune-activating cytokines and immune-attracting chemokines.
- WU-NK-101 showed strong anti-tumor activity in vivo, with long-term persistence and increased CD16 expression.
- WU-NK-101 drove robust antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity against solid tumor cell lines in combination with approved therapeutic antibodies.
- Wugen’s process enables commercial-scale manufacturing of WU-NK-101 by using WU-PRIME, a single GMP-grade fusion protein complex, and WU-EXPAND, a feeder cell-free expansion system, in combination with a proprietary cryopreservation method to maintain an enhanced memory phenotype and preserve functionality.
The details of Wugen’s presentation at SITC are as follows:
- Title: Development of WU-NK-101, a feeder cell-free expanded allogeneic memory NK cell product with potent anti-tumor activity
- Presenting Author: Mary E. Mathyer, Ph.D.
- Abstract Number: 188
- Abstracts will be available Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. ET
Additional meeting information can be found on the SITC website at: https://www.sitcancer.org/2021/home.
The poster will be available on the “Scientific Publications” section of Wugen’s website.
About Wugen
Wugen, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf memory NK and CAR-T cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies. Memory NK cells are hyper-functional, long-lasting immune cells that have evolved to attack cancer and respond to infection. Wugen is harnessing the power of this rare cell population by using its proprietary technologies to create WU-NK-101, currently in clinical development for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Wugen is also advancing WU-CART-007, an allogeneic CAR-T currently in development for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL). For more information, please visit www.wugen.com.
