Turnstone Planning to Initiate Phase I/II Clinical Trial Utilizing Personalized Neoantigen Therapy with Proprietary MG1 Viral Platform in 2019
NEW YORK and LA JOLLA, Calif. – September 4, 2018 – Turnstone Biologics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing the next generation of oncolytic viral therapies, and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology today announced that they have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement whereby Turnstone will utilize La Jolla Institute’s proprietary neoantigen identification methodology to select personalized neoantigens to target with its proprietary viral technologies for the development of new cancer immunotherapies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Turnstone will license the neoantigen identification methods developed by La Jolla Institute professors Dr. Stephen Schoenberger, Division of Developmental Immunology, and Dr. Bjoern Peters, Division of Vaccine Discovery, for use in cancer immunotherapies. Turnstone will fund collaborative research to further develop antigen identification methods for use in a Phase I/II clinical trial using its proprietary MG1 viral platform, expected to commence in 2019. Turnstone will also make development and regulatory milestone payments for therapies that utilize La Jolla Institute’s technology.
“Neoantigen-based treatments have the potential to transform cancer patient care by targeting specific genetic mutations in cancer malignancies,” said Dr. Mike Burgess, MBChB, Ph.D., President of Research and Development of Turnstone. “Neoantigens identified using the highly-predictive functional-based approach developed at La Jolla Institute will be incorporated into our MG1 viral platform to form powerful immunotherapies. We are excited to be collaborating with the La Jolla Institute with the goal of developing best-in-class personalized cancer medicines.”
“The field of neoantigens has evolved tremendously, and we are diligently working to more accurately predict patient-specific cancer mutations that can be targeted to drive more effective cancer treatments,” says Dr. Stephen Schoenberger. “Turnstone has exciting proprietory technologies for eliciting strong anti-tumor immune responses and we are looking forward to capitalizing on their novel approach to bring personalized neoantigen therapies to patients.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
About Turnstone Biologics
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical-stage, immuno-oncology company developing the next-generation of oncolytic viral immunotherapies for patients with a broad range of solid tumors. The company’s Maraba (MG1) oncolytic virus platform is the first to combine the tumor-killing effects of an oncolytic virus with a tumor-targeted T-cell vaccine to harness an individual’s own immune system to attack the tumor, with the goal of preventing recurrence and delivering a cure. Turnstone is advancing a robust pipeline of preclinical and clinical programs, including medicines targeting MAGEA3-expressing tumors, such as non-small cell lung cancer, and HPV positive tumors, such as cervical and head and neck cancers, both in Phase I/II clinical trials, and multiple additional therapies entering the clinic by 2019. In 2017, Turnstone executed the largest strategic partnership in the oncolytic virus field with AbbVie, and was named a FierceBiotech “Fierce 15” company. The Company’s lead investors include Versant Ventures, OrbiMed, F-Prime Capital Partners and FACIT. For more information, please visit http://turnstonebio.com/.
About the La Jolla Institute for Immunology
The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease. For more information, please visit http://www.lji.org/.
