• Article shows CD40 x TAA bispecific antibodies can induce enhanced T cell cross-priming superior to monospecific CD40 antibodies using in vivo models
• This concept translates into superior anti-tumor effects compared to monospecific CD40 antibodies and induces T cell-dependent anti-tumor memory

Lund, Sweden, November 2, 2022 - Alligator Bioscience (Nasdaq Stockholm: ATORX) today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article highlighting how bispecific Neo-X-Prime™ antibodies targeting CD40 and tumor-associated antigens (TAA) represent a promising novel treatment modality with the potential to meet key needs in immuno-oncology.

The publication in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer demonstrates how Alligator´s Neo-X-Prime™ platform can be used to generate 3rd generation bispecific antibodies with significantly superior anti-tumor effect to the monospecific CD40 antibodies. The results of the study also demonstrated in vitro that the antibodies induced clustering of tumor debris and CD40-expressing cells in a dose-dependent manner and superior T cell priming when added to dendritic cells, and antigen-containing tumor debris or exosomes. Further, the data show that the CD40 x TAA bispecific antibodies induced TAA-conditional CD40 activation both in vitro and in vivo, which shows the potential for a wide therapeutic window for Neo-X-Prime™ bispecific antibodies.

The full article, entitled "Bispecific antibodies targeting CD40 and tumor associated antigens promote cross-priming of T cells resulting in an anti-tumor response superior to monospecific antibodies", is available in print and online via this link.

The publication of our peer-reviewed study in this renowned scientific journal is a welcome endorsement of the work we are undertaking at Alligator on bispecific CD40 antibodies," said Peter Ellmark, CSO of Alligator Bioscience and one of the study's authors. "The mechanism we describe demonstrates these antibodies provide a new opportunity to enhance cross-priming of T cells, which has the potential to meet key needs in immuno-oncology by increasing the quantity and quality of tumor specific T cells, while at the same time remodelling the tumor microenvironment through myeloid cell activation to allow for more efficient treatment of cancer patients.

We are very pleased to see further data supporting our novel Neo-X-Prime approach, which simultaneously targets CD40 and tumor associated antigens leading to superior anti-tumor immunity," said Søren Bregenholt, PhD, CEO of Alligator Bioscience. "Being more efficient and safer compared to existing monospecific therapies, Neo-X-Prime represents a promising new therapeutic tool in immuno-oncology, and we are progressing with the development of our preclinical first-in-class bispecific CD40 agonist, ATOR-4066, for which we see medical opportunities in multiple cancer indications.

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 08:45 a.m. CET on November 2, 2022.