Press Release | April 15, 2023
Company to present data at AACR showing comprehensive biodistribution, tumor-specific payload detection, and broad immunological reprograming across multiple tumor models by IV-dosed ACTM-838
BERKELEY, CA — April 15, 2023
Actym Therapeutics, a Berkeley-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of a novel microbial-based immunotherapeutic modality to treat solid tumors, announced today that an abstract highlighting detailed characterization of its lead candidate, ACTM-838, was accepted for presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Orlando, on April 16, 2023.
ACTM-838 is Actym’s lead candidate from its proprietary STACT platform and encodes an engineered IL-15 payload (IL-15plex) and an engineered STING payload (eSTING). From a biodistribution analysis, ACTM-838 was found to be highly enriched in the solid tumor microenvironment after IV dosing. Tumor-specific protein expression of IL-15plex and interferon-alpha, which is induced by eSTING, was observed. The delivery of these payloads resulted in significant anti-tumor efficacy as a single agent, inducing immunological memory. ACTM-838 treatment comprehensively re-programmed the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) towards anti-tumor immunity across T-cells and tumor-resident myeloid cells.
“As we head to the clinic later this year, the data we are presenting at AACR highlights the potential of ACTM-838 to comprehensively reprogram the immunosuppressive TME towards anti-tumor immunity, as a single agent.” said Christopher Thanos, Ph.D., Actym’s President, CEO, and Cofounder. “These data highlight the unique ability of our therapeutic platform to achieve tumor-specific, combination payload expression from a systemically administered, non-viral delivery system.”
AACR Abstract Details:
ABSTRACT #576: ACTM-838, a Novel Immunotherapy that Enriches in Solid Tumors after IV Dosing and Comprehensively Reverses the Immunosuppressive TME to Promote Durable Anti-Tumor Immunity
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 2023
TIME: 1:30 PM EST
LOCATION: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
About Actym Therapeutics
Actym Therapeutics is a privately held, Berkeley-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of transformational immunotherapies to treat cancer. The company has developed an avirulent, programmable, live immunotherapeutic modality called STACT (S. Typhimurium-Attenuated Cancer Therapy).
After IV dosing, STACT naturally and selectively expands in the extracellular milieu of the TME, an environment well-known to be hospitable for bacterial growth. Once there, it is naturally internalized by phagocytic, tumor-resident immune cells, facilitating combinatorial payload delivery to these cells. This approach enables the tumor-specific delivery of payloads (and combos) too toxic to be dosed systemically via conventional modalities, in a single therapeutic composition. Actym’s lead candidate, ACTM-838 leverages these capabilities and is being tested as a single agent and in combination with anti-PD1 therapy across multiple solid tumor types. In April of 2020, Actym raised $34 million in a Series A financing, co-led by Boehringer-Ingelheim Venture Fund and Panacea Venture Healthcare, with participation from Illumina Ventures, Korea Investment Partners, and JLO Ventures.
Corporate Contact:
James Stutz
Chief Business Officer
[email protected]