iOmx Therapeutics to Present Target Discovery Platform Myeloid iOTarg™ and New Data on SIK Checkpoint Inhibitor OMX-0407 at AACR 2023


  • Discovery of novel immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment with iOTarg™ screening platform
  • Predictive biomarker signature for lead product candidate OMX-0407

MUNICH, Germany, March 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iOmx Therapeutics AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer therapeutics based on next generation immune checkpoint targets, today announced that its high-throughput target discovery platform, myeloid iOTargTM, will be highlighted in an oral presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023. Further, the company will present new data on its lead product candidate, OMX-0407, in a poster presentation at the conference, which will take place from April 14 to 19 in Orlando, Florida.

“We are excited to present our latest achievements in discovering and addressing novel immune evasion biology at this year’s AACR Annual Meeting,” said Dr. Nisit Khandelwal, Founder and Head of Research at iOmx. “In addition to tumor cells themselves, the tumor microenvironment, especially tumor-associated macrophages, play an important role in the immune escape mechanisms of solid tumors. We have leveraged our powerful discovery engine, iOTarg, to understand and uncover the entire repertoire of immune-modulating targets expressed on myeloid cells in an unbiased high-throughput manner. Identification of novel immune checkpoints on myeloid cells will enable us to further unlock the immune system’s ability to fight cancer and to address tumors that are resistant to current immunotherapies.”

“Our first iOTarg platform derived product candidate, OMX-0407, an orally available SIK (salt-inducible-kinase) inhibitor, will soon be tested in the clinic. We will present new data on the predictive biomarker signature for this candidate, which will be evaluated during our clinical development strategy,” said Dr. Christine Rothe, Chief Development Officer at iOmx.

Oral Presentation: A function-based high-throughput discovery platform, myeloid iOTargTM, identifies novel immune checkpoints of the tumor microenvironment.
Abstract Number: 3471
Session and Date: Immune Checkpoints at Tumor Beds, April 17, 2023, 2:30 PM ET

In this oral presentation the company will present its systematic screening approach for key mediators of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) induced immunosuppression. Using CRISPR-edited macrophages in a co-culture system, the myeloid iOTargTM platform allows to systematically address the functional role of any TAM-expressed gene in the regulation of macrophage phenotype, T cell activity, and gross impact on tumor cell lysis in a high-throughput, mixed cell type culture setting. The assay read-outs confirmed well-known targets, and identified additional novel targets that could lead to novel first-in-class tumor microenvironment-based therapeutics.

Poster Presentation: Development of a predictive biomarker signature for the highly potent SIK3 inhibitor OMX-0407
Abstract Number: 953/4
Session and Date: Biomarkers of Therapeutic Benefit 1, April 16, 2023, 1:30 PM ET

The poster describes the identification and validation of a response-prediction biomarker signature for its orally available first-in-class SIK (salt-inducible kinase) inhibitor lead product candidate OMX-0407. Using comprehensive transcriptomics and proteomics analyses the selective activity profile of OMX-0407 on individual cancer cell lines and PDX models was used to identify and validate a predictive biomarker signature. With this gene signature, 84% of the selected cancer cells lines were correctly classified and would benefit from OMX-0407 therapy. The predictive biomarker will be evaluated in the clinical phase I trial of OMX-0407 scheduled to start enrollment shortly.

About iOmx Therapeutics

iOmx Therapeutics (www.iomx.com) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class cancer immuno-therapeutics addressing novel immune checkpoints hijacked by cancer cells. Utilizing its iOTarg™ high-throughput screening platform, iOmx has identified a number of proprietary tumor-associated next-generation immune checkpoints and is advancing a preclinical stage pipeline of promising drug candidates that have the potential to address cancers that are resistant to current immunotherapies. The company’s lead program IMT-07 targets SIK3, an immune protective kinase in multiple solid tumors. Founded in 2016 based on the work of its scientific founders Philipp Beckhove, MD, and Nisit Khandelwal, Ph.D., conducted at the German Cancer Research Center, iOmx is backed by international venture capital investors, such as Wellington Partners, Sofinnova Partners and M Ventures as well as MIG Capital and Athos Biopharma. iOmx is based in Martinsried/Munich, Germany.

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