Botensilimab/Balstilimab Data in Neoadjuvant Colorectal Cancer Selected for ASCO-GI 2024

Agenus Inc. (“Agenus”) (Nasdaq: AGEN), a leader in discovering and developing novel immunological agents to treat various cancers, today announced that data from an investigator sponsored trial (IST) evaluating botensilimab (BOT, multifunctional CTLA-4 immune activator) in combination with balstilimab (BAL, PD-1 antibody) in neoadjuvant colorectal cancer (CRC) will be presented at the upcoming ASCO-GI Meeting, to be held January 18 – 20, 2024 in San Francisco, CA. The IST is led by Pashtoon Kasi, M.D., who was recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an associate professor of medicine and is a member of its Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center. Dr. Kasi is also an oncologist at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Presentation Details:

Abstract Title: Neoadjuvant botensilimab plus balstilimab in resectable mismatch repair proficient and deficient colorectal cancer: NEST-1 clinical trial (NCT05571293)
Abstract Number: 117
Presenting Author: Pashtoon Kasi, M.D., M.S., Director of Colon Cancer Research at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, and Director of Liquid Biopsy Research, Englander Institute of Precision Medicine, Sarah and Edward Meyer Center
Session: Poster Session C: Cancers of the Colon, Rectum, and Anus
Presentation Date and Time: 1/20/2024, 6:30am – 7:55am EST

Complete abstracts will be released on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 5:00pm EST. Data presented at the conference will be available to view in the publications section of the Agenus website (https://agenusbio.com/publications) following the ASCO-GI Meeting.

About Botensilimab

Botensilimab is an investigational multifunctional anti-CTLA-4 immune activator (antibody) designed to boost both innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. Its novel design leverages mechanisms of action to extend immunotherapy benefits to "cold" tumors which generally respond poorly to standard of care or are refractory to conventional PD-1/CTLA-4 therapies and investigational therapies. Botensilimab augments immune responses across a wide range of tumor types by priming and activating T cells, downregulating intratumoral regulatory T cells, activating myeloid cells and inducing long-term memory responses.