STCube Initiates Primate Trials for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Innovative Drug Candidate ‘STT-003’

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] STCube, a bio company developing immune-modulating anticancer drugs, announced on the 29th that it has begun primate experiments for the global Phase 1 clinical trial of ‘hSTC810,’ an antibody targeting the innovative new drug (First in Class) ‘STT-003’ under development.

A company official stated, "Through primate experiments on hSTC810, we plan to verify toxicity and pharmacokinetic characteristics according to drug dosage," adding, "The STT-003 antibody is one of the company’s main new drug pipelines, and procedures for proceeding with the global Phase 1 clinical trial are progressing smoothly."

The immune checkpoint target STT-003 discovered by STCube shows limited expression in normal tissue cells, whereas its expression rate in various cancer cells is higher than that of the existing immune checkpoint target PD-L1. Additionally, it is expressed in immune cells such as T lymphocytes similarly to the existing immune checkpoint target PD-1, making it an immune checkpoint molecule that comprehensively suppresses anticancer immune functions in cancer patients.

In July of last year, STCube signed a contract with Charles River Laboratories, a preclinical contract research organization (CRO) in the United States, for preclinical trials of the STT-003 antibody.

A company official explained, "We expect the safety of STT-003 to be sufficiently verified in the ongoing primate experiments," and added, "If only the safety of STT-003 is verified, its higher expression rate in cancer cells compared to other immune-modulating anticancer drugs is expected to result in higher efficacy compared to existing immune-modulating anticancer drugs."

Meanwhile, hSTC810 developed by STCube has been smoothly produced for clinical trials by Samsung Biologics since last year.