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Talem Therapeutics
One of Talem’s most advanced development programs, TATX-03 (anti-SARS-CoV-2 PolyTope® monoclonal antibody cocktail), is a rationally designed, fully human, 4-antibody combinational therapy containing syngergistic, potently neutralizing antibodies against non-overlapping epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 spike trimer. Talem’s SARS-CoV-2 PolyTope® therapy is designed to reduce mutagenic escape risk with an emphasis on efficacy for every patient, variant, and strain of SARS-CoV-2, and has been developed with the goal of sustainable efficacy as the virus evolves, combining broadly characterized, neutralizing and synergistic antibodies that exhibit diverse epitope coverage.
Stage: Drug product manufacturing complete
Type of Molecule: Biologic, multi-antibody combinational therapy
Target: SARS-CoV-2 and its variants
Visit The PolyTope TATX-03 for more information
Carbonic anhydrase XII (CAXII) is a membrane protein induced under hypoxic conditions in solid tumors. CAXII enzymatic activity is crucial for the survival and proliferation of cancer cells, resulting in tumor establishment, homeostasis, and metastasis. In addition, CAXII is required for Pgp-mediated resistance to chemotherapy. CAXII is overexpressed on various cancers such as renal, breast, colon, cervical and ovarian. Importantly, inhibition of CAXII activity has been shown to reduce tumor size, inhibit tumor migration, and restore sensitivity to chemotherapy in preclinical models. Therefore, Talem has developed a fully human monoclonal antagonistic antibody highly specific for CAXII. Due to high unmet medical need, paucity of immunotherapeutic options, high recurrence rate, and frequent occurrence of resistance to chemotherapy, Talem focuses on the development of the lead candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Stage: Lead candidate
Type of Molecule: Biologic, monoclonal
Mode of Action: Inhibition of enzymatic activity
Indication: Solid tumors, focus on ovarian cancer
ALK1, a member of the TGF-β receptor superfamily, is preferentially expressed on endothelial cells. Its ligands are TGF-β, BMP9 and BMP10. Impaired BMP9/ALK1 signalling is associated with various vascular pathologies such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic kidney problems and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); all chronic and hard to treat conditions. Enhancing signalling via the BMP9/ALK1 regulatory pathway has been demonstrated to reduce symptoms associated with PAH and to prevent hyperglycemia-induced vascular permeability in preclinical animal models. Treatment with BMP9 carries the risk of side effects through interaction with its other cognate receptors. Therefore, Talem is developing agonist antibodies specific for ALK1 with the aim to generate a safe and effective therapeutic for these vascular pathologies.
Stage: Discovery
Type of Molecule: Biologic, monoclonal
Mode of Action: Stimulation of signalling (agonist)
Indications: Diabetic retinopathy and pulmonary arterial hypertension
Many solid tumors are poorly immunogenic as the binding of monoclonal antibodies to the tumor associated antigen (TAA) often fails to induce the required immune response for tumor cell killing. This renders immunotherapy less effective. Combining anti-TAA(s) binding capabilities with anti-CD3 T cell engagement into one bispecific molecule enables the recruitment and activation of T cells to increase immunotherapy efficacy. The current first generation of T cell engagers available on the market have a high affinity for CD3 and induce potent tumor cell killing, but also cause the release of high levels of cytokines, leading to severe side effects and a narrow therapeutic window. Talem has developed anti-CD3 Fabs specifically directed against CD3δε and exhibiting agonistic activity, which are expected to reduce cytokine release. These Fabs are available to combine with anti-TAA arms of potential partners for the generation of novel T cell engaging bi-, tri- and multi- specific molecules.
Stage: Lead candidate
Type of Molecule: Biologic, Fab (Fragment Antigen-Binding)
Mode of Action: T cell engagement
Focussed indication: Bi-, tri- and multi-specifics
Tropomycin receptor kinase B (TrkB) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (TK) that is implicated in various solid tumors. Ordinarily, TrkB expression is confined to the central nervous system where it is important for maintaining normal brain function. Aberrant and overexpression of TrkB is implicated in various solid malignancies and associated with poor prognosis. Currently, therapeutic options for TrkB targeting are restricted to pan-Trk inhibitors, which lack specificity and cause side effects. The use of monoclonal antibodies binding TrkB specifically for the intracellular delivery of toxic payloads (i.e. ADC) is anticipated to increase safety and efficacy of TrkB-directed cancer therapies. Additionally, large molecules, such as antibodies, do not readily cross the blood brain barrier, further reducing the risk of on-target side effects. Talem is developing highly specific anti-TrkB internalizing antibodies to combine with ADC platform technologies of potential partners.
Stage: Lead selection
Type of Molecule: Biologic, mAb for ADC-based therapeutics
Mode of Action: Internalization for delivery of toxic payload into tumor cells
Indication: Solid tumors
Breast cancer (BC) accounts for 30% of all new female cancer cases each year. While there are good treatment options available, there are still hard to treat or unresponsive subtypes of BC, such as triple negative BC (TNBC). The (over)expression of the Tropomycin kinase B (TrkB) and (over)activation of the TrkB signaling pathway play an important role in various solid malignancies, including BC, and are associated with poor prognosis. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that targeting the TrkB pathway can reduce BC cell growth and metastasis, but current TrkB-directed treatment options are not specific. Additionally, BC tumors are not highly immunogenic, rendering immunotherapy less effective. By combing Talem’s proprietary anti-TrkB arms with its proprietary anti-CD3 T cell engaging arms in bispecific antibodies, Talem is aiming to develop novel effective immunotherapeutic molecules against BC.
Stage: Lead candidate
Type of Molecule: Biologic, bispecific antibody (TrkB x CD3)
Mode of Action: T cell engagement
Indication: Breast cancer (TNBC, HER2 neg.) and other solid tumors
This information was factually accurate on the date it was published. Talem assumes no duty to update the information to reflect subsequent developments. Readers should not rely upon the information on this page as current or accurate after its publication date. For the latest information on the Talem pipeline, readers should visit the News and Investors sections of our website. This information constitutes forward-looking statements relating to Talem’s business, including express or implied discussions regarding potential new products, potential new indications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Talem Therapeutics LLC regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that any new products will be approved for sale in any market, or that any new indications will be approved for existing products in any market, or that such products will achieve any particular revenue levels.
In particular, management’s expectations could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in the development of new pharmaceutical products; unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of existing clinical data or unexpected new clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. Group’s ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, including the uncertainties involved in the US litigation process; competition in general; government, industry, and general public pricing and other political pressures; and other risks and factors referred to in ImmunoPrecise Antibodies’ current Form 40-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.