Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. announced a strategic partnership with Guangzhou FineImmune Biotechnology Co., LTD. integrating the development of cell-based therapeutics targeting intracellular tumor-associated antigens. Biocytogen uses its TCR-mimicking antibody platform to obtain fully human sequences that are developed using FineImmune’s unique cell therapy platform.
Biocytogen’s TCR-mimicking antibody development platform utilizes their fully human RenMiceTM antibody engineered to express the human leukocyte antigen gene. Antibodies against intracellular tumor-associated antigens are subjected to high-throughput antibody screening technology to find antibodies with high specificity and affinity.
“Most tumor antigens are intracellular, and our TCR-mimic platform provides a solution for developing antibodies against these valuable targets. TCR-mimic antibodies generated by our TCR-mimic platform have the potentials to be developed into multiple drug modalities such as T cell engagers, bispecific/multispecific antibodies, and CAR-T therapies. We are pleased to collaborate with FineImmune to explore the application of our antibodies in the field of cell therapies.”
Dr. Yuelei Shen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Biocytogen
FineImmune is a pioneering T-cell therapy company that has solved major hurdles in the field of solid tumors using multiple technology platforms such as GSOP for T-cell engineering, HAP for TCR detection, and CMP for TCR-T-cell production and an in vivo T cell delivery platform (TDP). FineImmune’s product line includes TCR-T, CAR-T, TAL, TIL, etc. In addition, FineImmune has technologies to accurately predict immunotherapy efficacy and outcomes, enabling healthcare professionals to provide effective and safe immunotherapy to patients with common cancers.
“T cells play an important role in cancer therapy. Biocytogen’s advanced TCR-mimicking platform enables us to develop T-cell therapies against important but low-expressed intracellular tumor antigens,” said Dr. Penghui Zhou, the company’s founder and chief technology officer. FineImmune. “We are focused on providing effective and safe immunotherapy using advanced technologies. This collaboration will advance the development of new cell therapy drugs and the increased potential of immunotherapy to benefit patients.”
About the TCR-Mimic Platform
Biocytogen’s T-cell receptor mimicry platform uses HLA-expressing fully humanized mice to generate antibodies against intracellular tumor-associated antigens when injected with MHC antigen-peptide complexes. Biocytogen’s high-throughput antibody screening platform then aims to rapidly identify TCR-mimicking antibodies with greater specificity and affinity than endogenous patient-derived TCRs. Antibody sequences against many intracellular targets have now been found and their efficacy has been confirmed in vitro and in vivo. Sequencing of fully human antibodies derived from a TCR-mimicking platform can guide the development of T cell-specific, bispecific/multispecific antibodies and CAR-T therapies.
About Biocytogen
Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is a global biotechnology company that leads the research and development of novel, highly effective antibody-based medicines. Leveraging its RenMab TM /RenLite® murine development platforms for fully humanized monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, Biocytogen has integrated into Vivo efficacy screening platforms and strong clinical development capabilities to power the entire drug pipeline. Biocytogen is involved in a comprehensive program to develop more than 100 antibodies, known as Project Integrum, and has begun ongoing collaboration with multiple partners worldwide to develop a series of first-in-class and/or best-in-class antibody therapeutics. The company’s pipeline includes 12 lead products, of which two products are in Phase II multi-region clinical trials and two products are in Phase I. Biocytogen is headquartered in Beijing, with branches in Haimen, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Boston, Germany, and Heidelberg, Germany. On September 1, 2022, Biocytogen was listed on the board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 02315. HK.
About FineImmune
Guangzhou FineImmune Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is a technology-based company based in China. The company specializes in the development of solid tumor immunotherapy drugs and related businesses. It has solved the major technical bottlenecks in solid tumor immunotherapy and has a key technology. Several T-cell therapy products for solid tumors are in clinical trials, as well as diagnostic reagents for the accurate identification of active populations. It has 2,000-square-meter immunotherapy research and development laboratory and a GMP production workshop for cell therapy products in Guangzhou Science City. The company’s unique TCR-T cell therapy product (new drug) has undergone clinical trials at Sun Yat-Sen University Tumor Hospital. More than 20 immune cell therapy products and technologies are currently under research and development.