Press Release

Stockholm, Sweden, November 7, 2024

Mendus AB ("Mendus" publ; IMMU. ST), a biopharmaceutical company focused on immunotherapies targeting tumor recurrence, announces that it will present preclinical data demonstrating immune priming synergies between the intratumoral primer ilixadencel and avelumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor approved for multiple solid tumor indications, at the SITC 2024 conference.

Mendus will present preclinical data demonstrating that ilixadencel and avelumab act synergistically in intratumoral priming of the immune system during the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), held November 6-10, 2024 (SITC 2024). Addition of avelumab leads to stronger natural killer cell activation by ilixadencel, enhances production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in ilixadencel-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and leads to improved maturation of bystander dendritic cells. The presented data indicate that ilixadencel and avelumab act synergistically to promote a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment required for effective anti-tumor immune responses.

The data will be presented by Mendus’ Director Research Dr Satwinder Kaur Singh on Friday, November 8, at 12.15 CST. Abstracts are available online on the SITC website Titles and Publications - SITC 2024 . Please find below the details of the abstract to be presented by Mendus:

Abstract Number 761; Title: The intratumoral immune primer ilixadencel acts synergistically with the anti-PD-L1 antibody avelumab; Date: Friday, November 8, 2024; Presentation Time: 12.15-1.45 pm CST; Location poster session: Exhibit Halls A B, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas, USA

In July, Mendus announced a collaboration with Institut Bergonié, a leading cancer research centre based in Bordeaux, France, to study ilixadencel in soft tissue sarcomas as part of the REGOMUNE trial, a multicenter, prospective open-labeled phase 1/2 trial combining regorafenib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), and avelumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in solid tumors. Mendus will support the REGOMUNE trial by supplying ilixadencel as study drug to treat up to 43 soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients.

Ilixadencel is an off-the-shelf intratumoral immune primer consisting of pro-inflammatory monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) from allogeneic healthy donor material. Upon administration, ilixadencel promotes a local pro-inflammatory environment, activation of NK cells and cross-presentation of tumor antigens by recruited and activated endogenous DCs in the tumor microenvironment. In clinical trials, ilixadencel has demonstrated promising signs of efficacy in hard-to-treat solid tumors and was shown to be safe in combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. The data presented at SITC support clinical evaluation of ilixadencel in combination with avelumab, the immune checkpoint inhibitor used in the REGOMUNE trial.