SOTIO Presents New Data Showing Strong Anti-tumor Effect of IL-15 Superagonist SO-C101 in Mice at 2020 AACR Virtual Annual Meeting II

PRAGUE, June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SOTIO and Cytune Pharma from the PPF Group, today presented new preclinical data highlighting the therapeutic potential of SO-C101, an IL-15 superagonist, as a monotherapy and in combination with PD-1 inhibitors in multiple tumor models. The data were presented in a virtual poster presentation at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II.

“SO-C101 is a highly promising modality in immuno-oncology given its ability to mobilize the two most important cell types driving anti-cancer immune responses, NK cells and CD8⁺ T cells. The preclinical data highlight the ability of SO-C101, an IL-15 receptor-b/g superagonist, to reduce and prevent tumor growth in multiple mouse models through the control of these two immune cell types when given as a monotherapy and in combination with PD-1 inhibitors,” said Radek Špíšek, Chief Executive Officer of SOTIO. “We look forward to completing the monotherapy arm of our Phase 1/1b dose finding study in advanced solid tumors before the end of the year and initiating the dose escalation in combination with pembrolizumab in summer 2020.”

The virtual poster was entitled “SO-C101 displays strong anti-tumor effect in TC-1 and TRAMP-C2 tumor mice and in combination with PD-1 blockade prevents tumor development in an NK and CD8⁺ T cells dependent manner.” The data presented demonstrate the importance of NK and CD8⁺ T cells for the anti-tumor activity of SO-C101 as a monotherapy and in combination with PD-1 inhibition. Key findings presented include:

• SO-C101 monotherapy decreases the rate of tumor development and tumor growth in the TC-1 mouse tumor model, a lung cancer model, in a NK and CD8⁺ T cell dependent manner.
• SO-C101 monotherapy induces proliferation and expands immune cells in the tumor, lymph nodes and spleen, and activates NK and CD8⁺ T cytotoxicity genes in the TC-1 tumor model.
• SO-C101 monotherapy decreases tumor growth of established tumors in the TRAMP-C2 mouse model, a prostate cancer model, and expands CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells, but not regulatory T cells.
• SO-C101 in combination with PD-1 inhibition prevents tumor development in TRAMP-C2 mice and delays tumor growth upon a re-challenge with tumor cells.
• SO-C101 mediated anti-tumor response in combination with PD-1 inhibition is dependent mainly on NK and CD8⁺ T cells in the TRAMP-C2 tumor model.

SO-C101 is currently being studied in a multicenter, open-label Phase 1/1b study (NCT04234113) to evaluate its safety and preliminary efficacy as monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with selected relapsed/refractory advanced/metastatic solid tumors.

A copy of the poster can be accessed on the SOTIO website.

Cytune Pharma is responsible for the clinical development of SO-C101, SOTIO is a sponsor of the Phase 1 clinical trial.

About SOTIO

SOTIO is shaping the future of cancer immunotherapies by translating compelling science into patient benefit. SOTIO’s robust clinical pipeline includes a differentiated superagonist of the attractive immuno-oncology target IL-15, a platform to streamline personalized active immune cell therapies and a new generation of potent and stable antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). SOTIO is a member of the PPF Group. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.sotio.com.

SOTIO is a registered trademark of SOTIO a.s. in selected countries.