VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OncoOne, a biotechnology company focused on discovering precision medicines for cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced today the presentation of preclinical proof-of-concept data on its lead candidate ON203, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting oxMIF, and the radiodiagnostic 89Zr-ON102, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022, held from April 8-13, in New Orleans, Louisiana. ON203 demonstrated tumor growth suppression in two cancer mouse models and superior tumor cell killing effects in vitro as compared to a first generation anti-oxMIF antibody which had reached clinical evaluation. Conference participants can access the data in both a poster format and an online oral presentation via the conference website. The poster #313 will be presented on Sunday, April 10 in the poster session “Antibodies and Immune Therapies”, from 1:30 – 5:00 pm CDT.
“OncoOne has applied its drug discovery and development expertise combined with a unique depth of knowledge on the potential of oxMIF, the disease-related isoform of the highly prevalent cytokine, MIF, to develop ON203 as a valuable potential treatment for solid tumors,” said Randolf Kerschbaumer, PhD., CEO of OncoOne. “The preclinical data presented at AACR further validates our approach as we prepare to initiate the evaluation of ON203 in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with solid tumors.”
Alexander Schinagl, PhD., CTO of OncoOne added: “The concept of targeting oxMIF is gaining attention, as demonstrated by this week’s publication of the redox dependent oxMIF structure by Erin Skeens and coworkers in the Cell Press journal, Structure”.1
The poster entitled “Novel bioengineered monoclonal antibodies targeting oxidized macrophage migration inhibitory factor as anti-cancer therapeutics and diagnostics” highlights the improved properties of OncoOne’s next-generation anti-oxMIF antibodies, as compared to the first generation anti-oxMIF antibody that was well tolerated in Phase I and II clinical trials. Bioengineering significantly reduced hydrophobicity of ON203 and ON102, leading to improved stability and strongly reduced aggregation but retaining specificity and the low nM affinity for oxMIF. This resulted in an improved biodistribution and tumor retention in mice harboring solid tumors of the colon. In vivo studies of ON203 in mouse models of prostate cancer further demonstrated significantly improved efficacy, showing that ON203 effectively suppressed tumor growth without acute signs of toxicity. OncoOne will advance ON203 toward the clinic as a highly optimized oxMIF targeting treatment option for patients with solid tumors as a monotherapy and in combinatory approaches with other immunotherapies or checkpoint inhibitors.
The poster will be available on OncoOne’s website upon conclusion of the AACR 2022 Annual Meeting.
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About OncoOne
OncoOne seeks to overcome the limitations of targeting macrophage migration inhibitory factor by harnessing the high tumor-specificity of the disease-related isoform, oxidized macrophage migration inhibitory factor (oxMIF). The Company is focused on developing multiple proprietary drug modalities to leverage oxMIF’s potential as a target for systemic treatment of colorectal, ovarian and lung cancers, as well as for chronic inflammatory diseases. Equipped with a successful track-record in early-stage drug development, as well as a deep understanding of the target itself, OncoOne’s leadership will advance a pipeline based on oxMIF’s promise in oncology and other disease areas. www.oncoone.com
1Skeens et al., Redox-dependent structure and dynamics of macrophage migration inhibitory factor reveal sites of latent allostery, Structure (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2022.03.007.
