NEW YORK, NY and REDWOOD CITY, CA, USA I September 16, 2015 I OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OMED), a clinical-stage company developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics, today presented preclinical data for the company’s proprietary, wholly owned GITRL-Fc agent during the afternoon poster session of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference.

GITRL is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family of ligands and functions to activate the co-stimulatory receptor GITR (glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptors) to enhance T-cell modulated immune responses. OncoMed’s GITRL-Fc agent is engineered using a novel single-gene linkerless GITRL trimer which enables effective GITR activation and robust anti-tumor immune response.

“The single-gene linkerless trimer technology we have created provides a flexible platform for the design of additional immuno-oncology agents, including bispecific agents,” said Austin Gurney, PhD, Senior Vice President of Molecular and Cellular Biology. “We observed improved activation of GITR and highly potent single-agent activity using our GITRL fusion protein, and also noted that GITRL-Fc shows strong additivity with other immune checkpoint blockers. These data demonstrate a powerful new class of immunotherapeutic agent.”

In a series of preclinical studies presented today, OncoMed’s GITRL-Fc agent activated GITR signaling more effectively than an agonist GITR antibody and promoted robust anti-tumor immune responses, including the potentiation of antigen-specific T-cell Th1 type immunity and a reduction of regulatory T-cell (Treg) immune suppressive activity. In multiple murine tumor graft models GITRL-Fc enabled complete eradication of some tumors as a single agent. The combination of GITRL-Fc with anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 checkpoint inhibitors demonstrated enhanced anti-tumor activity compared to either agent alone.

“We are pleased to have presented research highlighting one of our proprietary immuno-oncology therapeutic agents,” said John Lewicki, Chief Scientific Officer of OncoMed. “OncoMed is actively advancing GITRL-Fc with a goal of filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application in 2016. This program further demonstrates our commitment to the ongoing discovery of innovative and next-generation anti-cancer therapies.”

Fumiko Axelrod, Senior Scientist II, of OncoMed presented these data in a poster titled “GITRL-Fc, an immunotherapeutic agent that stimulates T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune response” (Abstract number A058) during Poster Session A.

About OncoMed Pharmaceuticals

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics. OncoMed has seven anti-cancer product candidates in clinical development, including demcizumab (anti-DLL4, OMP-21M18), tarextumab (anti-Notch2/3, OMP-59R5), brontictuzumab (anti-Notch1, OMP-52M51), anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody (OMP-305B83), vantictumab (anti-FZD7, OMP-18R5), ipafricept (FZD8-Fc, OMP-54F28), and anti-RSPO3 (OMP-131R10), which each target key cancer stem cell signaling pathways including Notch, Wnt and R-spondin-LGR. OncoMed is also pursuing discovery of additional novel anti-CSC and cancer immunotherapy product candidates. OncoMed has formed strategic alliances with Celgene Corporation, Bayer Pharma AG and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Additional information can be found at the company’s website: www.oncomed.com.

SOURCE: OncoMed Pharmaceuticals