Affimed N.V. (NASDAQ: AFMD) has announced the presentation of three of three posters with preclinical data of the innate cell engagers at the 36th annual Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Meeting.
Affimed releases data on its ICE candidates
The findings highlight the company’s preclinical efforts to better understand the mechanisms of action for its flagship ICE candidates AFM13 and AFM24, demonstrating that both ICE molecules increased the number of NK cells that acted as serial killers against cancer and that macrophages play a role in AFM24’s anti-tumor activity.
Data from a partnership with Prof. Björn nfelt’s team at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm is displayed in the poster based on abstract 894. In the study, single-cell resolution microchip technology was employed to better understand the mode of action of two ICE medication candidates, AFM13 and AFM24. Both ICE compounds improved NK cell cytotoxicity and the amount of serial killers, which are NK cells that kill many tumor cells in a row. Furthermore, the cytotoxic impact of either ICE molecule was maintained after shedding suppression of the innate immune cell surface protein CD16, suggesting that CD16 stabilization is not necessary for efficient tumor cell killing by IFN.
Prof. Björn felt stated, “Showing serial killing for AFM13- and AFM24-engaged NK cells in single cell resolution is impressive.” “The microchip technology visualizes the cytotoxicity of AFM13- and AFM24-activated NK cells and shows how ICE® activated NK cells can destroy numerous tumor cells with a single NK cell.”
AFM34 stimulates antibody-dependent phagocytosis
AFM24’s ability to stimulate antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis is the subject of two further posters. First, on diverse EGFR-expressing tumor cell lines, regardless of their EGFR-pathway mutational status, AFM24, a bispecific ICE targeting CD16A and EGFR, increased macrophage-mediated ADCP.
Affimed CSO Arndt Schottelius said, “Our ICE® AFM24 is in development for a number of solid tumor indications. Considering that many solid tumors are rich in macrophages, it is very encouraging to see what role ADCP plays in its mechanism of action. In addition, the newly established 2D and 3D models will help to predict responses to AFM24 in certain tumor types.
