CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SUZHOU, China, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed ("HBM", HKEX: 02142) announced that China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) had approved the investigational new drug (IND) application to commence phase I trial of its B7H4x4-1BB bispecific antibody (HBM7008) in China. This study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of HBM7008 in patients with solid tumors. It has successfully completed the dosing of first patient in the phase I trial of HBM7008 in Australia on 25 May 2022.

HBM7008 is generated from HBM's unique and innovative HBICE^® platform. It is a first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting B7H4 and 4-1BB. The bispecific antibody can engage and activate T cells by 4-1BB only in B7H4 positive tumor microenvironment. B7H4 is overexpressed on a variety of solid malignancies, including breast, ovarian, endometrial, and non-small cell lung cancers. With its crosslinking-dependent specificity on tumors and potent immune modulation activity, HBM7008 has shown excellent safety profile with strong anti-tumor efficacy in the pre-clinical study, including completed response observed in the mouse tumor model.

"4-1BB is one of the most promising anti-tumor immune targets, providing new solutions for cancer treatment. As the first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting B7H4 and 4-1BB, HBM7008 is expected to lead the development of next-generation immunotherapeutics. Based on preclinical study data, we are highly confident in B7H4x4-1BB bispecific antibody. We will efficiently promote this clinical study to provide a novel, effective and safe treatment for patients, so that more cancer patients can benefit from the innovative therapeutic." said Dr. Humphrey Gardner, CMO of Harbour BioMed.

About HBM7008

HBM7008 is a bispecific antibody targeting Tumor-Associated Antigen B7H4x4-1BB that not only displays high potency in the T cell co-stimulation and tumor growth inhibition, and potentially may also translate to better safety due to its strict dependency of TAA-mediated crosslinking T cell activation. HBM7008 is one of the fully human bispecific antibodies developed from the HBICE^® platform of the Company. It is the only bispecific antibody against these two targets globally. Its unique specificity on tumors and immune modulation activity makes it a promising therapeutic in PD-L1 negative or PD-1/PD-L1 resistant patients. It also has the potential to avoid 4-1BB liver toxicity risk observed in other products with the benefit of its innovative biology mechanisms and bispecific design.

About Harbour BioMed
Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142) is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics focusing on immunology and oncology. The Company is building its robust portfolio and differentiated pipeline through internal R&D capability, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners, and select acquisitions.
 
The Company's proprietary antibody technology platforms Harbour Mice^® generate fully human monoclonal antibodies in two heavy and two light chain (H2L2) format, as well as heavy chain only (HCAb) format. Building upon the HCAb antibodies, the HCAb-based immune cell engagers (HBICE^®) are capable of delivering tumor-killing effects unachievable by traditional combination therapies. Integrating Harbour Mice^®, HBICE^® with single B cell cloning platform, our antibody discovery engine is highly unique and efficient for the development of next-generation therapeutic antibodies.  

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SOURCE Harbour BioMed