BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADRO), a biopharmaceutical company with three distinct immunotherapy technologies, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued two patents to Aduro related to the activation of the STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) Pathway. The first, U.S. Patent 9,724,408, jointly owned with the University of California and licensed to Aduro Biotech, covers ADU-S100 (MIW815), an investigational STING Pathway Activator being developed as a cancer therapy, and certain methods for its use. The second patent, U.S. Patent 9,695,212, claims methods of using certain additional cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) to induce STING-dependent immune responses.
“As leaders in cutting edge research and development of STING technologies, it is imperative that we protect our discoveries and expertise related to the modulation of the STING pathway,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and CEO of Aduro Biotech. “These issued patents strengthen and broaden the intellectual property coverage for fundamental aspects of our clinical CDN, ADU-S100, in addition to protecting our innovative research recognizing the importance of STING as a central mediator in triggering the development of tumor-specific immunity. We have demonstrated preclinically that activating STING promotes an inflamed tumor phenotype, which led to a profound anti-cancer immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator to enter into the clinic and is in an ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation study in patients with cutaneously accessible tumors.”
The issued patents bolster our patent portfolio for STING, where Aduro owns and licenses families of patents and patent applications for compounds that target the STING receptor, which would expire, or if issued would expire, between 2025 and 2038. These include both U.S. and international patent applications.
About STING Pathway Activator Platform
The Aduro-proprietary STING pathway activator product candidates, including ADU-S100, are synthetic small molecule immune modulators that are designed to target and activate human STING. STING is generally expressed at high levels in immune cells, including dendritic cells. Once activated, the STING receptor initiates a profound innate immune response through multiple pathways, inducing the expression of a broad profile of cytokines, including interferons and chemokines. This subsequently leads to the development of a systemic tumor antigen-specific T cell adaptive immune response.
Data from preclinical studies using multiple models demonstrated that ADU-S100 activates the STING Pathway and induced a durable local and systemic anti-tumor immune response as evidenced by induction of type I interferons (IFNs) and a CD8+ T-cell response. Additionally, preclinical data showed the combination of STING activation in the tumor microenvironment and PD-1 blockade enhanced antitumor efficacy.
ADU-S100 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 dose escalation study in patients with cutaneously accessible tumors. An Investigational New Drug application for the combination of ADU-S100 with an anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint antibody was recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Phase 1b clinical study is expected to begin later in 2017.
About Aduro
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro’s technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body’s natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro’s LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. This platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including mesothelioma, gastric, ovarian, lung and prostate cancers. Additionally, a personalized form of LADD, or pLADD, is being developed utilizing tumor neoantigens that are specific to an individual patient’s tumor. Aduro’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the STING receptor in immune cells, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform is comprised of a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development, including BION-1301, an anti-APRIL antibody. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, the strength and breadth of our patent portfolio, the adequacy of our intellectual property rights, the anti-tumor activity of ADU-S100, our technology platforms, plans, and the potential for eventual regulatory approval of our product candidates. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “project,” “seek”, “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our history of net operating losses and uncertainty regarding our ability to achieve profitability, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our ability to use and expand our technology platforms to build a pipeline of product candidates, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our ability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than we do, our reliance on third parties, and our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
Investor Contact: Alexandra Santos 510 809 9231 Media Contact: Susan Lehner 510 809 2137 press@aduro.com
