IO Biotech Announces Publication
IO Biotech Announces Publication of Preclinical Data Investigating Immune-Modulatory Effects of IO112, an Arginase 1-Targeting Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine Candidate
NEW YORK, Feb. 04, 2025 -- IO Biotech, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, immune-modulatory, off-the-shelf therapeutic cancer vaccines, today announced the publication of results from a preclinical study of its second immune-modulatory therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate, IO112, targeting arginase 1 (Arg1), in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.
These preclinical data further expand upon previously reported data that IO112 treatment inhibits tumor growth through dynamic changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). The present study showed how Arg1-specific T cells expanded by the vaccine enhance anti-tumor immunity by reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and promote a proinflammatory TME. Arg1 plays a central role in immune suppression, and its overexpression has been reported in several cancers.
“Arg1-expressing TAMs remain a major hurdle in cancer immunotherapy due to their role in creating an immunosuppressive TME,” said Ayako Wakatsuki Pedersen, PhD, Senior Vice President of Translational Research at IO Biotech. “TAMs represent one of the most abundant immune cell subsets found within the TME and it’s really exciting to learn that IO112 treatment directly impacts TAMs, changing the phenotype of TAMs completely. These findings further support the continued clinical development of Arg1-based immune-modulatory vaccines.”
“These data published in the Journal of ImmunoTherapy of Cancer add to the strong body of evidence that the unique approach of our T-win® platform, designed to kill both tumor cells and immune-suppressive cells in the TME, could potentially change the treatment paradigm in the management of a number of cancers,” said Mai-Britt Zocca, Ph.D., President and CEO of IO Biotech. “We look forward to submitting an IND for IO112 in 2025 and advancing into clinical development as part of our commitment to transform the treatment of cancer patients.”
About IO112
IO112 is the company’s fully-owned, novel investigational product candidate containing a single Arginase 1-derived peptide designed to engage and activate Arginase 1-specific human T cells. IO112 is designed to target T cells that recognize epitopes derived from Arginase 1, which is an immunoregulatory enzyme highly expressed in difficult-to-treat tumors associated with high levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) including renal cell carcinoma, head and neck, breast, pancreatic, ovarian, colorectal and prostate cancers. Arginase overexpression is a well-documented tumor escape mechanism. IO112 has been studied in a single arm first-in-human Phase 1 trial in patients with arginase-positive solid tumors, conducted in an investigator-initiated trial at the University of Copenhagen. The company anticipates filing an IND for IO112 in 2025.
