Biothera’s Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Imprime PGG Elicits Increased Natural Killer Cell Activation And Cancer Cell Killing

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imprime PGG, Biothera’s late-stage investigational cancer immunotherapy drug, enhances the tumor killing function of the innate immune system’s Natural Killer (NK) cells, according to research presented today at Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference jointly sponsored by the Cancer Research Institute, the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, the European Academy of Tumor Immunology, and the American Association for Cancer Research.

“The results presented in this poster demonstrate for the first time that Imprime PGG can also trigger the cancer killing activity of some of the immune system’s most potent killers, the Natural Killer cells.”

“To date, our research has centered on uncovering the mechanism by which Imprime PGG exerts its anti-cancer effect with a particular focus on the activity of the innate immune system’s monocytes, macrophages and neutrophils,” said Jeremy Graff, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Biothera Pharmaceutical Research. “The results presented in this poster demonstrate for the first time that Imprime PGG can also trigger the cancer killing activity of some of the immune system’s most potent killers, the Natural Killer cells.”

To assess Imprime PGG’s effect on the cancer killing function of NK cells, researchers measured levels of the cell surface marker, LAMP 1- a marker that specifically signals the killing activity of the NK cell. In both in vitro and in vivo studies, Imprime PGG treatment substantially enhanced LAMP-1 expression on NK cells exposed to cancer cells derived from T cell lymphomas and erthroleukemias. Imprime PGG treatment also enhanced the killing of human breast cancer cells coated with the anti-HER2 anti-body trastuzumab (Herceptin®) in a process known as Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC).

“These exciting results further enhance our understanding of Imprime PGG’s ability to enlist the full functionality of the innate immune system to orchestrate a coordinated, anti-cancer immune attack,” said Dr. Graff.

Biothera’s research (Poster #B186) is one of two poster presentations on Imprime PGG that the company will present today from 4:45 – 6:45 p.m. in the Empire Ballroom at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. The presentation is entitled, “Imprime PGG elicits Natural Killer cell activation, potentiating tumor cell killing.” View the poster at http://ow.ly/ShSVc.

About the International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT), the European Academy of Tumor Immunology (EATI), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have joined forces to sponsor the first International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference. Entitled “Translating Science into Survival,” it will cover all areas of inquiry in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, including: immune regulation of T cell responsiveness, genomic methods for identifying tumor antigens, the tumor microenvironment, T cell therapies, checkpoint blockade, biomarkers, combinations and the microbiome.

About Biothera Pharmaceutical Inc.

Biothera is a privately held biotechnology company developing Imprime PGG, a late clinical stage immunotherapeutic drug candidate that modulates key immune cells to recognize and kill cancer. Proof of concept has been established from single-arm and randomized Phase 2 studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Studies are ongoing in metastatic colorectal cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In addition, new research shows that Imprime PGG elicits a coordinated immune response that involves both innate and adaptive immunity. Visit www.biothera.com/pharmaceutical/ or follow us on Twitter.