ImmunoGenesis, a US-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing science-driven immunotherapies, announced on Thursday that it has dosed its first subject in the company's Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of its lead candidate, IMGS-001, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

The product, a dual-specific programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1)/programmed cell death 1 ligand 2 (PD-L2) antibody, is designed with cytotoxic function aimed at treating immune-excluded tumours that are resistant to present immunotherapy.

The Phase 1a/1b first-in-human, open-label, multicentre study (NCT06014502) consists of a dose escalation and expansion portion to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and preliminary anti-tumour activity of IMGS-001 in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumours refractory to standard-of-care treatment. Anticipated tumour types in the dose escalation portion of the study include ovarian, colorectal and triple-negative breast cancer.

ImmunoGenesis president and CEO James Barlow, said, 'Many tumours are not responsive to the current immunotherapies, representing a significant unmet need. Our vision is to unlock the potential of immunotherapy for a broader group of patients by targeting key mechanisms of immune resistance. We believe that this study will deliver initial proof of concept for our groundbreaking multitasking approach of using a single molecule to address immunosuppression and PD-1 pathway blockade.'