SKOKIE, Ill. – April 16, 2018 – Exicure, Inc., the pioneer
in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing three-dimensional,
spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) constructs, announced
today that it will present preclinical data in a poster session at the American
Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois
from April 14-18, 2018. The poster titled "TLR9 agonist SNA-induced innate and
adaptive immune responses in tumor microenvironment enhance checkpoint
inhibitor antitumor activity in mouse tumor models" supports the ongoing clinical
development of the company's proprietary SNA™ technology and highlights its
potential impact in the tumor microenvironment in potentiating antitumor
effects of anti-PD-1.
The data presented
in the poster, in combination with many other preclinical studies, provided the
basis for advancing Exicure's drug candidate, AST-008, into its Phase
1 clinical trial. We began subject
dosing in our Phase 1 clinical trial for AST-008 in the fourth quarter
of 2017 and expect this trial to be completed in mid-2018.
AST-008 utilizes
Exicure's proprietary spherical nucleic acid (SNA) technology designed in this
case to agonize toll-like receptor 9, or TLR9, for application in immuno-oncology. Exicure has observed that administration
of AST-008 as a monotherapy can have anti-tumor activity in colon
cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma and melanoma mouse models. The company has also
observed that, in preclinical studies in a variety of tumor
models, AST-008 applied in combination with certain checkpoint
inhibitors exhibited anti-tumor responses and survival rates that were greater
than those demonstrated by checkpoint inhibitors alone.
Details on the
poster presentation are as follows:
Title: TLR9 agonist SNA-induced innate and adaptive
immune responses in tumor micro-environment enhance checkpoint inhibitor
antitumor activity in mouse tumor models
Abstract No: 3758
Session Title: Immunomodulatory Agents and Interventions 1
Date/Time: April 17, 2018; 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM CT
Location: McCormick Place South, Exhibit Hall A, Poster
Section 32
Full abstracts
are available on the AACR conference website at http://www.aacr.org.
About Exicure, Inc.
Exicure,
Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a new class of
immunomodulatory and gene regulating drugs against validated targets. Exicure's
proprietary 3-dimensional, spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) architecture unlocks
the potential of therapeutic oligonucleotides in a wide range of cells and
tissues. Exicure's lead programs address inflammatory diseases, genetic
disorders and oncology. Exicure is based outside of Chicago, Ill. www.exicuretx.com
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Media Contact
Karen Sharma
ksharma@macbiocom.com
781-235-3060
