Benzinga | Oct 28, 2020 05:17AM EDT

Rubius Therapeutics Presented Preclinical Data for RTX-321, a Red Cell Therapeutic Oncology Product Candidate for HPV-Positive Cancers, Demonstrating its Dual Mechanism of Action

Rubius Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUBY) today announced the presentation of new preclinical data supporting its lead artificial antigen-presenting cell (aAPC) program, RTX-321, for the potential treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16-positive cancers. These data were presented today during the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Virtual Annual Meeting and earlier this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Tumor Immunology Conference.

"Our preclinical data demonstrate, for the first time, that RTX-321 has a dual mechanism of action by not only functioning as an antigen-presenting cell to boost HPV 16 antigen-specific T cell responses, but also promoting broad immune system stimulation of both innate and adaptive immunity," said Laurence Turka, M.D. chief scientific officer at Rubius Therapeutics. "The ability to engage both arms of the immune system is expected to provide a robust anti-tumor response by T cells and natural killer cells, making it harder for the tumor to escape by immune evasion. This dual mechanism of action is a key part of the development of epitope spreading, meaning that RTX-321 may induce the expansion of an immune response to secondary epitopes, or antigens, that are not expressed on RTX-321, as well as the development of a potent memory response, potentially enabling the body to remember a cancer's identity, which is critical to providing long-term protection from recurrence of the tumor."