HLB "Immunomic Signs Exclusive Negotiation Agreement for Technology Transfer with US Ion Oncology"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] HL Biotech's U.S. subsidiary Immunomic Therapeutics announced on the 24th that it has signed an exclusive negotiation agreement for technology transfer with iOncologi.

iOncologi is an immuno-oncology development company spun off from the University of Florida, founded by Dr. Duane Mitchell, a leading expert in brain tumors and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Florida, and Dr. Catherine Flores. iOncologi is developing a stem cell therapy iOi7 that alleviates resistance issues commonly encountered in immune checkpoint inhibitors such as CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockers.

Preclinical results confirmed that iOi7 regulates the tumor microenvironment and significantly improves resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Immunomic, developing dendritic cell vaccines through its immune vaccine platform ‘UNITE,’ plans to strengthen its cell therapy technology and further expand related pipelines through collaboration with iOncologi. Through this agreement, Immunomic has secured the exclusive negotiation rights for technology transfer should innovative cell therapy substances be developed by iOncologi in the future.

William Park of Immunomic said, “Professor Mitchell is a leading authority in clinical immuno-oncology, leading Immunomic’s glioblastoma Phase 2 clinical trial (ATTAC-II). Through this opportunity, we plan to combine the technological strengths of both companies to develop groundbreaking treatments in the brain tumor field.”

Dr. Mitchell of iOncologi also stated, “Through the collaboration between the two companies, we will do our best to provide new treatment options for patients with the intractable cancer glioblastoma.”

Immunomic is developing a therapeutic agent ‘ITI-1000’ using its cell therapy vaccine platform ‘UNITE.’ ITI-1000 is an immune cell therapy vaccine that activates the pp65 protein of cytomegalovirus, which is highly expressed in glioblastoma, in dendritic cells (DCs). It is currently undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial (clinical name ATTAC-II) at Duke University and the University of Florida. This clinical trial involves Dr. Duane Mitchell and Dr. John Sampson, both authorities in brain tumor treatment.