Crescendo Biologics Ltd, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing novel, targeted T cell enhancing therapeutics, has announced that it plans to augment the ongoing phase 1b clinical trial of CB307 through the addition of a new pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) combination expansion cohort.
Additional financing of $32 million has been secured with the support of all major existing shareholders, including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group BioNTech, Takeda and Quan Capital, and new investor Kreos Capital to fund the additional combination expansion arm of the adaptive clinical protocol.
CB307, Crescendo Biologics’ lead proprietary program, is now entering the cohort expansion part of the ongoing phase 1b clinical trial. The monotherapy expansion cohort is already under way in individuals with PSMA+ metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in a last-line setting. The additional pembrolizumab combination expansion cohort is expected to be initiated in Q3 2023 and will be open to those with PSMA+ mCRPC.
“We are delighted to have secured this additional financing which will enable us to accelerate the clinical development of CB307,” said Theodora Harold, CEO at Crescendo Biologics.
“Preclinical data generated by Crescendo, such as those recently presented at AACR in Orlando, as well as clinical data presented by others earlier this year, illustrate the profound effect that adding PD-1 antagonism can have to the co-stimulation of T cells, including via CD137 agonism. We are very excited to further investigate the activity of the combination of CB307 plus pembrolizumab in our clinical study and would like to thank everyone involved in the trial and our existing investors for their ongoing support as well as the team at Kreos Capital for joining us and sharing our vision.”
About Crescendo Biologics’ CB307
CB307 is a first-in-class, half-life extended, CD137 x PSMA bispecific, designed to deliver a safer and more durable T cell response to cancer, whilst avoiding systemic toxicity. The clinical programme for CB307 is underway in adults with PSMA positive solid tumors. CB307 was developed by Crescendo using its transgenic mouse platform generating fully human VH domain building blocks (Humabody VH).
Other interests
Beyond Crescendo Biologics’ pipeline, the U.K.-headquartered company has global, multi-target discovery and development collaborations with both Takeda and BioNTech and an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Zai Lab for ZL-1102 (formerly CB001, an anti-IL-17A targeting Humabody), which is expected to enter global phase 2 clinical development in patients with psoriasis.