HLB Innovation Secures Next-Generation Solid Tumor Target with Verismo

Verismo Therapeutics, the U.S. subsidiary of HLB Innovation, has successfully discovered a new solid tumor target binder through research collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

According to Verismo on July 21, the company has applied a target binder that recognizes the claudin 6 (CLDN6) antigen on the surface of cancer cells to its KIR-CAR platform and has initiated new preclinical development targeting solid tumors expressing CLDN6.

The CLDN6 target binder was discovered by the research team of Dr. Donald Siegel, co-founder and co-chair of the scientific advisory board at Verismo and faculty at the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn, under a research support agreement with Verismo. This is the second binder secured through collaboration with UPenn, following DS191, which is used in the CAR-T candidate SynKIR-310 for hematological malignancies that is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials.

While CLDN6 is expressed in various types of cancer, its expression is extremely low in normal adult tissues, making it a promising target for next-generation immunotherapies. Recently, its antitumor activity has been demonstrated in diverse therapies such as CAR-T, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and bispecific immunotherapies, confirming its clinical potential.

Verismo's strategy is to combine its proprietary CLDN6 binder with the multi-chain KIR-CAR platform to improve the durability of therapeutic effects, which has been identified as a limitation of existing CLDN6-targeted therapies, and to develop a next-generation cell therapy that induces a more sustained antitumor immune response in solid tumors.

Brian Kim, CEO of Verismo Therapeutics, stated, “Applying Verismo's multi-chain KIR-CAR architecture to the promising solid tumor target CLDN6 is a strategic move to overcome the limitations of existing CLDN6-targeted therapies and cell therapies for solid tumors. Through this program, we aim to expand the potential of the KIR-CAR platform to a wide range of solid tumors.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.