– Clinical trial in progress to be presented for Phase 1a/b study investigating AB248 alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors –

– Preclinical data for cis-targeted IL-2 and IL-21 cytokines that selectively activate CAR-T cells to be highlighted as promising approach for augmentation of CAR-T anti-tumor activity –

Asher Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing precisely-targeted immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune, and infectious diseases, today announced that the company will present two poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023, being held in Orlando, Florida, April 14-19, 2023.

A poster highlighting Asher Bio’s lead immunotherapy candidate, AB248, a CD8+ T cell-selective IL-2, will be featured as a clinical trial in progress for the ongoing Phase 1a/b study of AB248 alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors who failed prior standard of care treatments. (NCT05653882).

Asher Bio will also present new preclinical data for CAR-T-specific IL-2 and IL-21 therapies demonstrating highly selective delivery of cytokine support to CAR-T cells and enhanced anti-tumor activity via distinct mechanisms. Asher Bio has engineered cis-targeted cytokine fusion molecules that specifically activate only CAR-T cells by delivering either IL-2 or IL-21, while exhibiting minimal activity on bystander cells, to offer the potential for greater activity and durability of CAR-T cell therapy.

Details of the poster presentations are as follows:

Title: An open-label, phase 1a/b study of AB248, a CD8+ selective IL-2 mutein fusion protein, alone or in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors

Authors: Elizabeth I. Buchbinder, M.D., David R. Spigel, M.D., Constantine Albany, M.D., Michael Chisamore, Ph.D., Kelly D. Moynihan, Ph.D., Xiaohan Liu, Pharm. D., Christopher DelNagro Ph.D., Matt Axt, Andrea Pirzkall, M.D.

Session Title: Phase I and First-in-Human Clinical Trials in Progress

Session Date & Time: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET

Poster Section: 46

Poster Board Number: 13

Abstract Number: CT250

Title: Engineered cell surface tag-targeted IL-2 and IL-21 selectively and safely enhance CAR-T anti-tumor activity via different mechanisms

Authors: Nathan D. Mathewson, Ph.D., Wei Chen, Ph.D., Paul Bessette, Ph.D., Sara Sleiman, M.D., Meghana Sukthankar, Kelly D. Moynihan, Ph.D., Chris Kimberlin, Ph.D., Terrence Park, Audrey Hollingsworth; Saar Gill, M.D., Ph.D., Andy Yeung, Ph.D., Ivana Djuretic, Ph.D.

Session Title: Immunomodulatory Agents and Interventions 2

Session Date & Time: Monday, April 17, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET

Poster Section: 24

Poster Board Number: 19

Abstract Number: 1847

The abstracts are now available on the AACR conference website.

About Asher Bio

Asher Bio is a biotechnology company developing therapies to precisely engage specific immune cells to fight cancer, chronic viral infection and autoimmune disease. We utilize our proprietary cis-targeting platform to develop therapies engineered to overcome limitations of other immune-based treatments by selectively activating specific immune cell types with validated disease fighting functionality. Our candidates feature an antibody connected to a modified immunomodulatory protein, such as a cytokine. Our candidate design is intended to enable our candidates to selectively activate the desired immune cells and not other cells that contribute to toxicity or immune suppression. Asher Bio was founded by Ivana Djuretic and Andy Yeung with support from Third Rock Ventures and is located in South San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.asherbio.com and follow us on Twitter @AsherBio and on LinkedIn.

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