CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nimbus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company that designs and develops breakthrough medicines through its powerful computational drug discovery engine, is sharing preclinical data, released today, on its Casitas B-lineage lymphoma b (Cbl-b) inhibitor, NTX-801, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2022 Annual Meeting, being held April 8-13, 2022, in New Orleans, LA.
Cbl-b is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is expressed in immune cells and, in the context of cancer, acts as a brake on the immune system, functioning as an intracellular checkpoint that negatively regulates T-cell activation, natural killer cell activity, and immune response through degradation of specific proteins. Taken together, these factors make Cbl-b inhibition a potentially promising target for immuno-oncology.
Nimbus employed a structure-based drug design approach to identify small molecule inhibitors of Cbl-b. The inhibitor NTX-801 demonstrated strong immune cell activation and robust and statistically significant tumor growth inhibition in a mouse syngeneic tumor model. In combination with anti-PD-1, it resulted in robust anti-tumor activity, increased survival, and several complete responses, as defined by no measurable tumor in the murine tumor model.
“Preventing Cbl-b activity from dampening immune responses has long been seen as a promising potential way to enhance anti-tumor immunity. The preclinical data we are presenting today at AACR support the promise of Cbl-b inhibition as a means of activating the immune response in vivo,” said Peter J. Tummino, Chief Scientific Officer. “We look forward to further characterizing the Cbl-b inhibitors we have identified, and continuing to advance Cbl-b inhibition toward the clinic as a novel immuno-oncology approach.”
The details of the poster presentation are as follows:
Title: Discovery of NTX-801, a Cbl-b inhibitor with antitumor activity in syngeneic models
Session Category: Immunology
Session Title: Immune Checkpoints
Session Date and Time: Sunday April 10, 2022, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM ET
Location: New Orleans Convention Center, Exhibit Halls D-H, Poster Section 38
Poster Number: 28
About Nimbus Therapeutics
Nimbus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company that designs and develops breakthrough medicines through its powerful and comprehensive computational drug discovery engine. Nimbus’ pipeline is comprised of multiple selective small molecule compounds targeting proteins that are known to be fundamental drivers of pathology in highly prevalent human diseases and have proven difficult for drug makers to tackle. Nimbus is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. To learn more about Nimbus, please visit www.nimbustx.com.
