- Presentations will highlight the broad potential treatment opportunities for its clinical-stage targeted therapeutics HMBD-001 (anti-HER3 mAb) and HMBD-002 (anti-VISTA mAb) with further demonstrations of their pre-clinical efficacy in additional indications and deeper studies of their underlying therapeutic mechanisms
- HMBD-001 may represent a viable targeted treatment option in patients with oncogenic HER3 mutations across cancer types
- Understanding the mechanisms driving HMBD-002's potent anti-tumor activity enhances the current knowledge of VISTA biology and improves the understanding of which patients may benefit most from HMBD-002
SAN FRANCISCO and HOUSTON and SINGAPORE, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hummingbird Bioscience, a data-driven precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologic medicines for hard-to-treat diseases, today announced two upcoming poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting 2024 (April 5-10) in San Diego, California.
The company will present pre-clinical data describing the activity of HMBD-001, a clinical-stage anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) currently in Phase I trials (NCT05057013, NCT05910827 and NCT05919537), in tumors with oncogenic HER3 mutations, and pre-clinical data investigating the mechanism of action and anti-tumor response of HMBD-002, a clinical-stage anti-VISTA mAb currently in Phase I trials (NCT05082610).
HMBD-001 is shown to potently block oncogenic signaling driven by HER3 mutations and could offer significant clinical benefit for patients with HER3 mutations across cancer types. The poster will highlight that more than 80% tumor growth inhibition is seen across multiple preclinical models with common HER3 mutations. The data also confirms that HMBD-001's binding epitope does not overlap with these mutations in HER3.
HMBD-002 selectively blocks VISTA while avoiding depletion of important immune cell populations, holding significant promise for patients with aggressive cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The HMBD-002 poster will highlight the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving HMBD-002's specific and potent anti-tumor response via VISTA blockade. These insights will help to identify and target patients that are most likely to benefit from HMBD-002.
"These translational studies exemplify Hummingbird Bio's commitment to precision oncology. Through better understanding of disease biology and the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of our therapies, we can more precisely define the patient populations that will benefit from those therapies. We look forward to discussing our recent advancements with the oncology research community at AACR," said Jerome Boyd-Kirkup, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Hummingbird Bioscience.
Hummingbird Bioscience is recruiting patients with aberrant HER3 signaling, which includes selected HER3 mutations, in the company's ongoing Phase Ib trial (NCT05919537).
HMBD-001 | Title: A HER3 antibody that uniquely | Session Category: Experimental and Session Title: Cancer Treatment: New Session Date and Time: Tuesday Apr 9, Location: Poster Section 22 Poster Board Number: 5 Published Abstract Number: 5796 |
HMBD-002 | Title: The VISTA blocking antibody | Session Category: Immunology Session Title: Immune Checkpoints and Session Date and Time: Monday Apr 8, Location: Poster Section 3 Poster Board Number: 7 Published Abstract Number: 1356 |
About Hummingbird Bioscience
Hummingbird Bioscience is a data-driven precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologic medicines for hard-to-treat diseases. The Hummingbird Bioscience model combines computational and systems biology with wet lab drug discovery in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative environment spanning initial discovery through clinical development. The company harnesses this integrated approach across target identification and patient selection, enabling the team to increase the efficiency of translating novel scientific insights while reducing the inherent risk in drug discovery and development. The company is currently developing two clinical-stage assets: HMBD-001, a humanized anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody targeting a novel epitope on HER3, and HMBD-002, a humanized anti-VISTA IgG4 monoclonal antibody. Both programs are currently in Phase I studies. At Hummingbird Bioscience, the commitment to rigorous science, teamwork, and intellectual integrity underpins our passion to accelerate the journey of new drugs from concept to clinic.
For more information, please visit www.hummingbirdbioscience.com, and follow Hummingbird Bioscience on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
About HMBD-001
HMBD-001 is a clinical-stage IgG1 antibody designed to target HER3, discovered using Hummingbird Bioscience's proprietary Rational Antibody Discovery (RAD) platform. We believe HMBD-001 is the only anti-HER3 antibody in development that has the potential to fully block both ligand-dependent and -independent HER3 activation and oncogenic signaling, by targeting a key epitope located at the interface where HER3 forms heterodimers with HER2 or EGFR. In preclinical models evaluating HMBD-001, superior affinity and more potent tumor growth inhibition compared to existing anti-HER3 antibodies were observed. HMBD-001 is currently in Phase Ib clinical trials for biomarker-selected indications with a strong scientific rationale, which includes squamous non-small cell lung cancer, NRG1 fusions, and HER3 mutations.
About HMBD-002
HMBD-002 is an investigational IgG4 anti-VISTA antagonist antibody produced by our Rational Antibody Discovery ("RAD") platform to target the region where VISTA interacts with binding partners that have been shown to play an important role in modulating T cell activity, potentially unlocking the immune system to attack cancer cells. Due to complex biology, VISTA has not been adequately drugged to date. We believe HMBD-002 is the first Fc-independent anti-VISTA antibody designed to bind a computationally predicted functional epitope distinct from the epitopes of other known anti-VISTA antibodies in development. In the Company's preclinical studies, HMBD-002 demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity both as monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab, in multiple syngeneic and humanized mouse models of cancers. HMBD-002 is being developed for various VISTA-expressing cancers, both as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab. The development of HMBD-002 is supported in part by a grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT, DP190027).
Hummingbird Bioscience Media Contact:
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