Full Press Release Details
Immutep Limited, Level 12, 95 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
ASX/Media Announcement
Line Development for IMP761
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA April 16, 2020 Immutep Limited (ASX: IMM; NASDAQ: IMMP)
( Immutep or the Company ), is pleased to announce that Batavia Biosciences, its manufacturing partner for its preclinical candidate, IMP761, has made significant progress in the cell line development for the product candidate
which is an immunosuppressive agonist antibody to LAG-3.
Using its STEP -mAb technology, Batavia Biosciences has developed a pharmaceutical-grade, stable CHO cell line that produces significantly high product yields of IMP761. The Company will now complete the
preparations for the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) process compliance development phase, ahead of clinical testing of the compound in autoimmune disease.
Immutep reported encouraging preclinical results from its studies of IMP761 in early 2019. The in vivo studies showed that IMP761 decreases
inflammatory T cell infiltration induced by intra-dermal injection of an antigen. As a targeted immunosuppressive antibody, IMP761 has the potential to address the root cause of autoimmune diseases by specifically silencing the autoimmune memory T
cells accumulating at the disease site which express LAG-3 as an exhaustion marker after being repeatedly stimulated with dominant self-peptides at the disease site. These findings were published in the
peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Immunology, in January 2020.
Batavia Biosciences CEO, Menzo Havenga Ph.D., said:
We are pleased that our STEP -mAb proves its value in the development of this important IgG4-based LAG-3 immunotherapy product, IMP761.
Immutep CEO, Marc Voigt stated: IMP761 is the first agonist antibody that targets the immune checkpoint
LAG-3 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The cell line which was developed seems to be highly potent and we are excited
to be moving closer to clinical testing of this promising product candidate to treat the root cause of autoimmune diseases.
Immutep is a globally active biotechnology company that is a leader in the development of LAG-3 related
immunotherapeutic products for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. Immutep is dedicated to leveraging its technology and expertise to bring innovative treatment options to market for patients and to maximize value to shareholders.
Immutep is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (IMM), and on the NASDAQ (IMMP) in the United States.
Immutep s current lead product candidate is eftilagimod alpha ( efti or IMP321 ),
a soluble LAG-3 protein (LAG-3Ig) based on the LAG-3 immune control mechanism. This mechanism plays a vital role in the
regulation of the T cell immune response. Efti is currently in a Phase IIb clinical trial as a chemoimmunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer termed AIPAC (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02614833); a Phase II clinical trial being conducted in
collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) referred to as TACTI-002 to evaluate a combination of efti with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in several different solid tumours (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03625323); a Phase I clinical trial being conducted in collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and
Pfizer Inc. referred to as INSIGHT-004 to evaluate a combination of efti with avelumab (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03252938); and a Phase I combination therapy trial in metastatic melanoma termed
TACTI-mel (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02676869).
Additional LAG-3 products, including antibodies, for
immune response modulation in autoimmunity and cancer are being developed by Immutep s large pharmaceutical partners. Immutep is also developing an agonist of LAG-3 (IMP761) for autoimmune disease.
Further information can be found on the Company s website www.immutep.com or by contacting:
Australian Investors/Media:
+61 (0)406 759 268; cstrong@citadelmagnus.com
Garth Russell, LifeSci Advisors
+1 (646) 876-3613; garth@lifesciadvisors.com
This announcement was authorised for release by the board of Immutep Limited.
Immutep Limited, Level 12, 95 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000