Immatics Initiates Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial to Evaluate PRAME TCR Bispecific IMA402 in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors - Seite 2

The trial initiation is based on the comprehensive preclinical studies with IMA402 presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022.

TCER IMA402 is the second Immatics clinical program targeting PRAME, with the first being ACTengine IMA203, a TCR-T cell therapy which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b dose expansion. Both approaches, ACTengine and TCER, are distinct therapeutic modalities that Immatics believes to have the potential to provide innovative treatment options for a variety of cancer patient populations with different medical needs.

About IMA402
TCER IMA402 is a drug candidate owned by Immatics. IMA402 is Immatics’ second TCER molecule from the bispecifics pipeline and is directed against an HLA-A*02-presented peptide derived from preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME), a protein frequently expressed in a large variety of solid cancers, thereby supporting the program’s potential to address a broad cancer patient population. Immatics’ PRAME peptide is present at a high copy number per tumor cell and is homogenously and specifically expressed in tumor tissue. The peptide has been identified and characterized by Immatics’ proprietary mass spectrometry-based target discovery platform, XPRESIDENT. IMA402 is part of Immatics’ strategy to leverage the full clinical potential of targeting PRAME, one of the most promising targets for TCR-based therapies.

About TCER
Immatics’ next-generation half-life extended TCER molecules are antibody-like “off-the-shelf” biologics that leverage the body’s immune system by redirecting and activating T cells towards cancer cells expressing a specific tumor target. The design of the TCER molecules enables the activation of any T cell in the body to attack the tumor, regardless of the T cells’ intrinsic specificity. Immatics proprietary biologics are engineered with two binding regions: a TCR domain and a T cell recruiter domain. The TCER format is designed to maximize efficacy while minimizing toxicities in patients. It contains a high-affinity TCR domain that is designed to bind specifically to the cancer target peptide on the cell surface presented by an HLA molecule. The antibody-derived, low-affinity T cell recruiter domain is directed against the TCR/CD3 complex and recruits a patient’s T cells to the tumor to attack the cancer cells. With a low-affinity recruiter aiming for optimized biodistribution and enrichment of the molecule at the tumor site instead of the periphery, TCER are engineered to reduce the occurrence of immune-related adverse events, such as cytokine release syndrome. In addition, the TCER format consists of an Fc-part conferring half-life extension, stability, and manufacturability. TCER are “off-the-shelf” biologics and thus immediately available for patient treatment. They can be distributed through standard pharmaceutical supply chains and provide the opportunity to reach a large patient population without the need for specialized medical centers.