Nektar Therapeutics Announces Presentation of Preclinical Data for NKTR-255, its Novel IL-15 Agonist, at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2020 Annual Meeting
SAN FRANCISCO,?Dec. 7, 2020?/PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:?NKTR) today announced two nonclinical data presentations for NKTR-255, its IL-15 pathway agonist, at the 62nd?American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. The presentations include an oral presentation of translational research studies conducted in collaboration with researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Center.
NKTR-255 is an interleukin-15 (IL-15) receptor agonist that is designed to expand both natural killer (NK) cells and memory CD8 T cell populations. It is currently being evaluated in multiple clinical studies in both hematological and solid tumors in combination with agents that induce antibody-dependent cellular toxicity (ADCC). In the hematological setting, NKTR-255 is being tested in a Phase?1b/2 clinical study as monotherapy and in combination with rituximab or daratumumab in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). It is also being evaluated in a Phase?1b/2 solid tumor trial in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of colorectal cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
"Inhibition of NK cell effector functions is a mechanism for immune evasion in patients with multiple myeloma and therefore restoring and enhancing NK cell functionality is a key goal for new immunotherapeutic approaches, " said?Nikhil C. Munshi, MD, Professor of Medicine at?Harvard Medical School, Director of Basic and Correlative Science, and Associate Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "In our studies, we found the novel IL-15 receptor agonist, NKTR-255, was effective in reverting the inhibitory status observed in NK cells from MM patients, leading to enhanced direct NK cytotoxicity against several MM cell lines and primary MM cells. In addition, we saw a significant increase in ADCC activity?in vitro?with NKTR-255 in combination with myeloma-targeting antibodies as compared to activity with those antibodies alone. These data accentuate the potential for NKTR-255 as an innovative immunotherapeutic agent in the treatment of multiple myeloma."
"The ASH presentations add to the growing body of data for NKTR-255 that highlight its ability to enhance NK cell effector function and greatly potentiate the ADCC mechanisms of targeted antibodies," said?Jonathan Zalevsky, Ph.D., Chief Research & Development Officer at Nektar. "We are excited about the development potential of NKTR-255, especially as we've already observed biological activity in the first multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients treated in the monotherapy dose-escalation phase of our liquid tumor study."
Details of the preclinical data presentations at ASH are listed below and are available on the scientific section of Nektar's website at?http://www.nektar.com/science/scientific-posters-and-presentations:
Abstract 667:?"Restoring NK Cell Activities in Multiple Myeloma with IL-15 Receptor Agonist NKTR-255,"?Fern?ndez, R. A., et al. (This study was conducted in collaboration with Dr.?Nikhil C. Munshi?at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.)
Jerry Isaacson?of Nektar Therapeutics
628-895-0634
Vivian Wu?of Nektar Therapeutics
628-895-0661 For Media:
Dan Budwick?of 1AB
973-271-6085
dan@1abmedia.com 1.? Blood 2018?Jun 7;131(23):2515-2527 SOURCE Nektar Therapeutics
- Oral Session:?652. Myeloma: Pathophysiology and Pre-Clinical Studies, excluding Therapy
- Date:?Monday, December 7, 2020,?2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
- The induction of an activated profile in NK cells by NKTR-255 results in an effective enhancement of their anti-myeloma effector function in?ex vivo?assays.
- In vivo?studies confirmed superiority of the combination of daratumumab and NKTR-255 compared to single agents in controlling MM growth.
- NKTR-255 improves the immune cell compartment both in the tumor tissue and blood following anti-CD38 treatment.
- Poster Session:?203. Lymphocytes, Lymphocyte Activation, and Immunodeficiency, including HIV and Other Infections: Poster I
- Date:?Saturday, December 5, 2020,?7:00 a.m.???3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
- NKTR-255 significantly enhanced the?in vitro?cytotoxicity of expanded NK cells when combined with rituximab against MEC-1, PGA-1, and DOHH2 as compared to the control groups.
- NKTR-255 also significantly enhanced the?in vitro?cytotoxicity of expanded NK cells when combined with obinutuzumab against rituximab-resistant BL cells like Raji-2R and Raji-4RH as compared to the control groups.
- NKTR-255 significantly enhanced the ADCC of expanded NK cells with anti-CD20 type I and type II antibodies against CLL, FL and rituximab-resistant BL cells in vitro with enhanced IFN-?, granzyme B and perforin release.
Jerry Isaacson?of Nektar Therapeutics
628-895-0634
Vivian Wu?of Nektar Therapeutics
628-895-0661 For Media:
Dan Budwick?of 1AB
973-271-6085
dan@1abmedia.com 1.? Blood 2018?Jun 7;131(23):2515-2527 SOURCE Nektar Therapeutics