STCube Announces PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Drug Candidate Research Results at AACR

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] STCube, a bio company developing immune checkpoint inhibitors, announced on the 23rd that it presented preclinical results of its PD-1 related immune checkpoint inhibitor improved new drug candidate STM418 at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.

STM418 is one of STCube's core pipelines under research as an improved immune checkpoint inhibitor new drug. It is an antibody that binds to a specific glycosylation site on the immune checkpoint protein PD-1, effectively inhibiting its binding to PD-L1, thereby exhibiting anticancer effects. STM418 showed higher binding affinity to PD-1 than FDA-approved and marketed PD-1 antibody drugs and strongly inhibited PD-L1 binding, resulting in high anticancer efficacy.

In particular, in animal experiments, STM418 significantly inhibited tumor growth more than existing marketed PD-1 antibody drugs, and when administered to animals implanted with tumors, it significantly extended survival periods.

STCube is continuing research on STM418 in collaboration with its joint research partners, the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in the United States and the China Medical University in Taiwan.

Among immune checkpoint inhibitors approved by the FDA and currently marketed, the representative new drug Keytruda achieved sales exceeding approximately 13 trillion KRW last year, with rapidly increasing sales. STM418, expected to have superior anticancer effects compared to Keytruda, is anticipated to become a game changer in the immune checkpoint inhibitor market if marketed as an improved new drug.

A company official stated, “Based on the preclinical research results of STM418, we are striving to develop an immune checkpoint inhibitor new drug superior to existing Keytruda and Opdivo products,” adding, “We plan to start antibody production of STM418 soon and prepare for clinical trials.”