OUR SCIENCE

In the last seven years, immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer care. Most promisingly, patients who do respond show long and durable remission from cancer. Unfortunately to date those therapies have worked in only 10-20% of cancer patients, and there is an urgent need to develop novel immunotherapies that will expand those benefits to the other 80-90% of patients by effectively targeting a broader range of cancers, as well as increasing the efficacy of existing therapies. The primary reason patients fail to respond is due to an immunosuppressive response that limits the benefits of current immunotherapies also known as checkpoint inhibitors.

 

Integrin-mediated activation of TGF-β is at the root of resistance to therapies in the cancer tumor micro-environment, fibrosis, and NASH. Integrins are vital components of the cell’s machinery to link the intracellular and extracellular environment and essential aspects of cell behavior. Studies have demonstrated their connection with several types of cancer, particularly during metastases and angiogenesis (Marelli et al., 2013). Integrins represent cell surface receptors and are in an ideal position to become pharmacological targets.

 

A primary factor in the limitation of immunotherapy efficacy and patient benefit is cytokine TGF-β. TGF-β has long been known to be a central node in driving immune suppression, limiting the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors. In cancer, TGF-β is a key driver of tumor proliferation, inflammation, invasion and metastasis, angiogenesis, and avoidance of immune surveillance. Various attempts have been made to therapeutically drug this target by blocking active TGF-β released from its latent complex.  These attempts have shown limited but promising efficacy, and have been hampered by safety issues, most critically cardiac toxicity.

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In preclinical trials, our lead asset, VTX-001 has been shown to successfully stop activation of TGF-β by integrin αvβ6/1, a primary source of cancer immunosuppression across a broad spectrum of cancers, including lung cancer, the leading cause of all cancer deaths in both men and women, estimated at 23% and 22% for 2020, respectively. Integrin αvβ6/1 expression has been found in multiple tumor types, is correlated with poor survival, and is independent of PD-1(Programmed cell death protein 1). Targeting integrin αvβ6/1 does not affect TGF-β2, the blockage of which has historically been associated with adverse events.

 

Venn’s preclinical assets and integrin portfolio successfully address both these challenges.