Biotechnology company Asgard Therapeutics is set to announce preclinical results showing its gene-based cancer immunotherapy could reprogramme tumour cells. 

The company will present data on AT-108, a first-in-class, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy, in an oral presentation at the ASGCT Annual Meeting, held from 11-15 May in Boston, US. 

Data demonstrate AT-108’s ability to induce systemic anti-tumour immunity in mouse models leading to abscopal effect and regression on non-treated tumours in the same animals, with AT-108 proving to be the optimised clinical candidate following screening of over 25 cassette variants. 

Asgard had previously demonstrated that intratumoural delivery of AT-018 reprogrammes tumour cells into cDC1-like antigen-presenting cells and works synergistically with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) to elicit powerful anti-tumour activity. 

“These data demonstrate the ability of AT-108 to reprogramme tumour cells in situ into antigen-presenting cells with high efficiency, systematically driving activation of tumour-specific immune responses within the tumour microenvironment,” said Fábio Rosa, Co-Founder, VP and Head of Research at Asgard Therapeutics. 

“This work provides clear preclinical evidence supporting our in vivo cell reprogramming platform and represents another milestone for Asgard as we advance AT-108 toward the clinic.” 

“We are delighted to have been selected for an oral presentation at ASGCT, which will highlight the progress we have made advancing AT-108 – our first-in-class, off-the-shelf gene-based immunotherapy designed to trigger powerful, personalised anti-cancer responses,” added Shane Olwill, Chief Development Officer at Asgard Therapeutics. 

“Our pioneering approach to tackling cancer is potentially transformative and we are excited by AT-108’s broad potential across multiple cancer types.”