MiNK Therapeutics presents data on iNKT cell therapy programs

MiNK Therapeutics (INKT) announced data from two poster presentations at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 39th Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas. The presentations showcased new data from MiNK’s iNKT cell therapy programs, agenT-797 and PRAME-TCR. AgenT-797 Combination Boosts Activity of Checkpoint Inhibitors and Bispecific Engagers in Challenging Solid Tumors: AgenT-797 alone or in combination with anti-PD-1 shows durable disease control in majority of heavily pretreated patients. AgenT-797 combined with bispecific engagers targeting antigens such as MUC16, HER2, Claudin 18.2, and DLL3, promote increased T-cell activation, efficient tumor cell killing, and reduced exhaustion and myeloid cell activity. Ongoing Clinical Studies: AgenT-797 is advancing in an enrolling Phase 2 trial with an innovative five-treatment combination regimen that includes botensilimab, balstilimab, and standard-of-care chemotherapy. This trial targets 2L+ advanced gastroesophageal cancer patients and is being conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with results expected in 2025. PRAME-TCR iNKT Represents a Promising Targeted Therapy for Refractory Solid Tumors: iNKT cells present an ideal platform for tumor-targeting T cell receptor expression due to the absence of conventional alphabeta TCRs and endogenous class I MHC molecules. MiNK’s allogeneic PRAME-targeted TCR addresses the limitations of traditional T cell therapies. As an allogeneic, gene-editing-free solution, it expresses an engineered alphabeta PRAME-TCR with no risk of heterodimerization, offering a potentially safer and more precise approach. In preclinical studies, PRAME-TCR-iNKTs direct tumor cell killing with high specificity, which highlights the versatility of iNKT cells and their potential of to treat solid tumors such as NSCLC, ovarian, melanoma and sarcoma.