NEW YORK, Nov. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kadmon Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KDMN) today announced it will present preclinical data on KD033, its anti-PD-L1/IL-15 fusion protein in development for oncology indications, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, taking place November 7-11, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
KD033 is a novel immunotherapy designed to stimulate an immune response directed to the tumor microenvironment. Recombinant IL-15 alone, which stimulates cancer-fighting immune effector cells, is not well tolerated when administered systemically. Kadmon has developed a novel approach to overcome this challenge by fusing IL-15 to an anti-PD-L1 antibody to direct IL-15 activity specifically to the tumor microenvironment, promoting efficacy and inducing durable responses while potentially increasing tolerability.
New data demonstrated that a single dose of KD033 inhibited tumor growth across multiple in vivo syngeneic tumor models and achieved dose-dependent efficacy in a resistant melanoma syngeneic mouse model. KD033 induced a strong immune memory response with a single treatment, resulting in mice that remained tumor-free following several tumor re-challenges. Furthermore, KD033 in combination with anti-PD1 therapy demonstrated synergistic activity, providing rationale for administering KD033 in combination with other immune checkpoint inhibitors.
“Although immunotherapy has been game-changing for the treatment of cancer, many tumors learn to evade current therapies, limiting efficacy and durability of response. New approaches are needed to address relapsed or refractory patients as well as non-responders,” said Harlan W. Waksal, M.D., President and CEO at Kadmon. “By directing a potent cancer-fighting response to the tumor site, KD033 has potential to safely overcome resistance and induce long-lasting responses for patients. We look forward to continuing our research on KD033 and initiating our first-in-patient studies in the second half of 2019.”
About Kadmon Holdings, Inc.
Kadmon Holdings, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company developing innovative product candidates for significant unmet medical needs. Our product pipeline is focused on inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.
Forward Looking Statements
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Contact Information
Ellen Cavaleri, Investor Relations
646.490.2989
ellen.cavaleri@kadmon.com