CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Codiak BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDAK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering the development of exosome-based therapeutics as a new class of medicines, today announced that the company will present data from its engEx™ Platform at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), which is being held virtually from May 11-14, 2021. Codiak scientists will present four abstracts detailing results from numerous preclinical studies evaluating the potential utility of engineered exosomes in multiple settings, including oncology, infectious disease, gene therapy and neurology.
“In addition to our current clinical programs that are testing engineered exosome therapeutic candidates in immuno-oncology, we see broad opportunity for our platform to create novel, targeted therapeutic approaches in multiple disease areas,” said Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Codiak. “The data to be presented at ASGCT highlights the power of the engEx platform to engineer specific features into exosomes for immune evasion, targeted cell tropism, and potent engagement of previously undruggable pathways, characteristics that serve as the foundation of a new class of medicines.”
Poster Presentations - May 11, 2021; 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET:
exoVACC™: A Novel Exosome-Based Vaccine Platform That Induces Robust, Tunable Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses in Animal Models
Abstract number: 721
Session: Immunological Aspects for Gene Therapy and Vaccines
Optimization of AAV Loading Into Extracellular Vesicles as Method to Avoid Neutralizing Antibodies
Abstract number: 320
Session: AAV Vectors – Virology and Vectorology
Engineered Exosomes Efficiently Deliver STAT6 Antisense Oligonucleotides to Tumor Associated Macrophages (TAMs) Resulting in Potent Local and Systemic Anti-Tumor Activity
Abstract number: 444
Session: Oligonucleotide Therapeutics
Engineering Exosomes With Altered Cellular Tropism for Neuronal Cell Targeting
Abstract number: 808
Session: Vector Product Engineering, Development or Manufacturing
About the engEx™ Platform
Codiak’s proprietary engEx Platform is designed to enable the development of engineered exosome therapeutics for a wide spectrum of diseases and to manufacture them reproducibly and at scale to pharmaceutical standards. By leveraging the inherent biology, function and tolerability profile of exosomes, Codiak is developing engEx exosomes designed to carry and protect potent drug molecules, provide selective delivery and elicit the desired pharmacology at the desired tissue and cellular sites. Through its engEx Platform, Codiak seeks to direct tropism and distribution by engineering exosomes to carry on their surface specific targeting drug moieties, such as proteins, antibodies/fragments, and peptides, individually or in combination. Codiak scientists have identified two exosomal proteins that serve as surface and luminal scaffolds. By engineering the exosome surface or lumen and optimizing the route of administration, Codiak aims to deliver engEx exosomes to the desired cell and tissue to more selectively engage the drug target, potentially enhancing the therapeutic index by improving potency and reducing toxicity.
About Codiak BioSciences
Codiak is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering the development of exosome-based therapeutics, a new class of medicines with the potential to transform the treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases with high unmet medical need. By leveraging the biology of exosomes as natural intercellular transfer mechanisms, Codiak has developed its proprietary engEx Platform to expand upon the innate properties of exosomes to design, engineer and manufacture novel exosome therapeutic candidates. Codiak has utilized its engEx Platform to generate a deep pipeline of engineered exosomes aimed at treating a broad range of disease areas, spanning oncology, neuro-oncology, neurology, neuromuscular disease and infectious disease.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among other things, statements concerning the development and therapeutic potential of exoIL-12 and exoASO-STAT6, including future development plans and regulatory filings and timing with respect thereto. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Codiak’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in Codiak’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is current as of the date of this report, and Codiak undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.