“Cancer therapy using ADC strategies is an area of major interest. The synergies presented around nadunolimab and ADCs have a huge commercial potential”, said Göran Forsberg, CEO of Cantargia.

Traditional chemotherapy can induce the release of inflammatory factors (IL-1α and IL-1β), which act as “danger signals” and promote tumor growth, chemotherapy resistance, and immune suppression. In addition, these factors also stimulate inflammation-related damage to the nervous system, contributing to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

ADCs, a form of guided missile delivering cytotoxic drugs (“payloads”) precisely into the cancer cells via the antibody part of the molecule, is a groundbreaking approach in cancer therapy and the next generation of chemotherapy. ADCs have an edge over traditional chemotherapies as they are widely recognized for their improved tolerance levels and precise target recognition, sparing the healthy cells around the tumor. However, as for traditional chemotherapy, ADCs can also induce treatment resistance and side effects such as neuropathy.

Cantargia’s new preclinical data shows that ADCs (or payloads) increase the expression of IL-1α and IL-1β when interacting with cancer cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, or immune cells. In addition, the data also demonstrates potent inhibition of IL-1 signaling in these ADCs-treated cell culture systems when combined with a nadunolimab surrogate antibody. Furthermore, experiments reveal pronounced payload-driven neuropathic effects in a mouse model of neuropathy.

Neuropathy is a common and serious side effect of several chemotherapies or ADCs. Neuropathy often leads to the drop out of patients from an otherwise effective cancer therapy. Our preclinical as well as clinical findings strongly claim that nadunolimab combined with either standard chemotherapies or ADCs is a potential therapy to increase anti-tumor effects and alleviate neuropathy.

The preclinical data were generated in collaboration with University of Queensland, Australia and will be presented in detail in a poster session at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), 39th annual meeting Nov 6-10, 2024. More information on the poster session is found below:

Poster number: 1303
Poster title: Antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payload-induced IL1 suggests potential for anti-IL1RAP therapy combination for enhanced treatment efficacy and prevention of neuropathy
Session date and time: November 08, 2024

The poster will be presented at the SITC annual meeting 2024 in Houston on Nov 8 from 9am local time by Dr Elin Jaensson Gyllenbäck from Cantargia. The poster related to the presentation will be uploaded on Cantargia’s webpage www.cantargia.com.