NextCure Presents Non-Clinical Data Defining the Mechanism of NC525 at the 2023 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Annual Meeting
BELTSVILLE, Md., June 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class immunomedicines to treat cancer and other immune-related diseases, today announced the presentation of a poster that defines the mechanism of NC525-induced apoptosis of leukemic cells, but not healthy hematopoietic cells, at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) annual meeting in Boston. NC525 is a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) that specifically binds to LAIR-1 and is being developed for the treatment of advanced myeloid leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).
“Our pre-clinical models showed that NC525 specifically eradicates leukemic stem cells (LSCs) and blast cells, while preserving healthy hematopoietic cells,” said Solomon Langermann, Ph.D., NextCure’s chief scientific officer. “The data presented in the poster define the mechanism that leads to specific induction of apoptosis in leukemic cells, but not in healthy immune cells. We look forward to continuing NC525’s clinical development and providing an update on the trial in the fourth quarter of this year.”
NC525, a humanized LAIR-1 mAb, targets and destroys AML blasts and LSCs. AML remains incurable for most patients with current therapies. High expression of LAIR-1 is seen on leukemic stem cells and blast cells, where it plays a role in survival of these cancer cells. LAIR-1 expression is relatively lower on normal hematopoietic stem cells and does not play a role in survival of normal immune cells, making it an ideal anti-leukemic target. The current Phase 1 study is an open-label, non-randomized, dose escalation trial to determine safety and tolerability of NC525 in adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML.
Details of the poster presentation are as follows:
Title: LAIR-1 Signal Transduction Determines Leukemic Cell Fate
Abstract Number: W189
Session Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Session Time: 7:30 AM – 7:30 PM ET
About NextCure, Inc.
NextCure is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class immunomedicines to treat cancer and other immune-related diseases. Through our proprietary FIND-IO™ platform, we study various immune cells to discover and understand targets and structural components of immune cells and their functional impact in disease in order to develop immunomedicines. Our initial focus is to bring hope and new treatments to patients who do not respond to current cancer therapies, patients whose cancer progresses despite treatment and patients with cancer types not adequately addressed by available therapies. http://www.nextcure.com
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