Forbius announced the first patient was dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial with AVID200. The trial will evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor effects of escalating doses of AVID200 in patients with solid tumors.
“Our goal is to significantly expand the number of cancer patients who benefit from checkpoint blockade and other immunotherapies. AVID200 was designed to have the potency and isoform selectivity to effectively counteract the highly immunosuppressive effects of TGF-beta in the tumor microenvironment and reverse resistance to immunotherapy,” said Dr. Maureen O’Connor-McCourt, CSO of Forbius.
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AVID200 selectively neutralizes TGF-beta 1 & 3 with best-in-class pM potency, thus neutralizing the principal immunosuppressive TGF-beta isoforms. AVID200’s optimal selectivity was also designed to circumvent cardiac and other safety issues that have limited the applicability of older-generation, non-selective TGF-beta inhibitors.
AVID200’s immuno-oncology mode of action focuses on the reversal of both immunosuppression and fibrosis in the tumor stroma. In syngeneic mouse tumor models, AVID200 treatment led to T-cell activation, increased immune cell infiltration, and increased efficacy of immune checkpoint agents.