Domain Therapeutics awarded Hospital-University Research in Health (RHU) SPRINT consortium grant to progress its proprietary CCR8 antibody candidate to the clinic
- Domain to receive a grant over a five year period to support DT-7012 which is expected to start a Phase I study by mid-2025
- DT-7012, a Treg depleting anti-CCR8 monoclonal antibody (mAb) nominated in June 2023, is a novel drug with a best-in-class potential
- The consortium, coordinated by Université Paris Cité, includes five world-class academics and two highly innovative companies, each recognized for their respective expertise, to progress a precision medicine for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients
Strasbourg, France – Montreal, Canada – Boston, United States, January 25, 2024 – Domain Therapeutics (“Domain” or “the Company”), a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative drug candidates in immuno-oncology targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), today announces it has been awarded a grant as part of the Hospital-University Research in Health (RHU) SPRINT consortium. The €30 million consortium project will be supported by a nearly €10 million grant from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) as part of the France2030 investment plan, shared between the academic and private partners to progress precision medicines, including moving Domain’s DT-7012 to the clinic.
The SPRINT project aims to revolutionize the management of patients with CTCL and deliver a new cure paradigm as a standard-of-care. CTCL affects about one in 100,000 adults worldwide each year, nearly tripling in last 30 years. The impact on the quality of life of patients is severe, and the median overall survival rate is less than 5 years in the advanced stages. There is no clear understanding of the underlying factors guiding disease progression.
The multidisciplinary SPRINT consortium gathers internationally renowned physicians and researchers as well as drug discovery and artificial intelligence specialists to investigate the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) of CTCL, understand the mechanism of immuno-resistance, develop a non-invasive prognostic tool and bring new innovative therapeutic solutions to the clinic. The group includes five world-class academics:
UPCité, INSERM, Hospices Civils de Lyon, AP-HP, CHU Bordeaux, two highly innovating companies (Domain Therapeutics and TheraPanacea), while being endorsed by Medicen, the European Reference Network for Rare Hematological Diseases (EuroBloodNet), the French Study Group on Cutaneous Lymphomas (GFELC) – a national network supported by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), and the patients association ELLyE
Domain and the SPRINT consortium will utilize a triad approach, building upon previous discoveries of extensive investigation into the TME in CTCL, including:
- Implementation of an innovative strategy to improve treatment-agnostic early prognostication, through an effective synergy of domain-driven and data-driven artificial intelligence
- Validation of a molecular signature of response to mAbs
- Innovative drug development targeting tumor cells and the TME in the mechanisms of resistance with mAbs to provide long-term responses
Dr. Stephan Schann, Vice-President of Research at Domain Therapeutics, commented: “Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a rare type of cancer, and is largely considered an incurable disease with only few patients responding to current treatments. The grant that we have been awarded by the RHU SPRINT consortium will support the progress of DT-7012, an anti-CCR8 monoclonal antibody which has incredible potential as a best-in-class therapeutic, into the clinic. We are proud to take part in the RHU SPRINT consortium as we aim to turn more non-responder patients into responders.”
Professor Adèle de Masson, RHU SPRINT Project Coordinator at Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris, said: “I would like to thank the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) for this significant support. There is a need for new treatments to address the severe impact on quality of life that cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has on patients, ranging from skin damage to secondary infections, pain, and fatigue, and survival rates. I am hopeful that Domain Therapeutics and the other recipients of the RHU SPRINT consortium grants will help improve the lives of CTCL patients worldwide and I look forward to the outcomes.”
Dr Anthony Johnson, President and CEO, Domain Therapeutics, said: “We are extremely pleased for the support and further validation from the RHU for our GPCR targeting immuno-oncology pipeline. Domain was already awarded a first RHU grant, RHU CONDOR for Sarcoma, in the previous campaign, leveraging another proprietary asset. Being successful two consecutive years is unique and highlights the excellence of our science and collaborators. We are excited to work with the government and our partners in this second consortium, RHU SPRINT.”
Domain previously announced the nomination of novel drug candidate DT-7012, an anti-CCR8 monoclonal antibody depleting tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells (Tregs), with best-in-class potential in CTCL and solid tumors. Domain’s target is a highly strategic approach to derive efficient novel immunotherapies that increase the clinical success rate of treatments in non-responding patients with cancer, and the Company expects to start a Phase I study of DT-7012 by mid-2025.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
ICR Consilium
Amber Fennell, Namrata Taak, Andrew Stern
Email: DomainTherapeutics@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5813
Yucatan (for French media)
Annie-Florence Loyer
Email: AFloyer@yucatan.fr
Tel: +33 (0)6.88.20.35.59
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