Phio Pharmaceuticals Presenting Data Showing INTASYL May Result in More Effective Cell Therapy for Hematological Malignancies

—Poster will be unveiled this week at the Immunotherapy Conference in Munich

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL siRNA gene silencing technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells, today announced it is presenting new data about INTASYL on March 21^st. The event is scheduled to take place at the 10th Immunotherapy of Cancer Conference (ITOC10), which will be held in Munich, Germany from March 21-23, 2024.

The poster, Enhancing NK cell cytotoxicity against tumor cells with a novel self-delivering RNAi compound targeting Cbl-b, reveals new preclinical data demonstrating the potential of treatment with INTASYL self-delivering siRNA Compound PH-905, formerly known as Compound 27547, to improve function of natural killer (NK) cells. The data reveals a consistent silencing of Cbl-b mRNA, which has been shown to limit NK cell activation. Cytotoxic activity of NK cells against K562 (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) cancer cells was also increased. By reducing the expression of Cbl-b, INTASYL promotes NK cell activation and proliferation. These preclinical data demonstrate the potential of INTASYL Compound PH-905 to improve Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) by targeting and silencing Cbl-b. This may result in a more effective cell therapy for hematological malignancies.

“These data underscore the versatility and potential of Phio’s INTASYL siRNA technology,” said Phio’s President & CEO Robert Bitterman. “It offers a strategy to enhance the effectiveness of ACT therapies in hematological malignancies.”

The preclinical data demonstrate the following:

• INTASYL self-delivering RNAi compound PH-905 effectively targets and silences Cbl-b in primary NK cells without negative impact on their viability.
  
  
• Silencing of Cbl-b results in increased proliferation of primary NK cells.
  
  
• INTASYL silencing of Cbl-b in primary NK cells enhanced their functional cytotoxicity towards tumor cells.
  
  
• Silencing of Cbl-b leads to enhanced fitness of NK cells through increased expression of CD98 and CD25, potentially improving NK metabolism and promoting activation in response to IL-2.
  
  
• INTASYL compound PH-905 may be used to improve the anti-tumor response of NK cells to provide a more effective cell therapy for cancer treatment.
  
  

Presentation Details are as follows:
Title:			Enhancing NK cell cytotoxicity against tumor cells with a novel self-delivering