LONDON and MONTREAL , Oct. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer Research UK, one of the world's largest funders of cancer research, and KisoJi Biotechnology Inc., a company focussed on the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics, have signed a landmark agreement to bring KisoJi's lead asset, KJ-103, into a first-in-human clinical trial.
KJ-103 is a naked anti-TROP2 antibody that has been created by KisoJi using its proprietary antibody technology. Under the agreement, Cancer Research UK's Centre for Drug Development (CDD) will sponsor, design and deliver a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of KJ-103, in selected TROP2 expressing solid tumours. KisoJi will supply the antibody for the clinical trial and work with CDD to complete the preclinical package.
Cancer Research Horizons, Cancer Research UK's innovation arm, will manage the commercial relationship. Unlike antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), KJ-103 does not require a cytotoxic payload but instead functions by recruiting immune cells to kill tumour cells. KJ-103 binds to TROP2 in a location distinct from where current TROP2 ADCs bind.
It uses TROP2 as a way of directing macrophage activation and phagocytosis of the tumour cells expressing it, leading to tumour cell death. KJ-103 may provide an alternative treatment option for TROP2-expressing cancers in which TROP2 ADCs have proven ineffective or are not suitable due to their toxicity profile. Tumour types expressing TROP2 include: colorectal, head and neck, ovarian, breast, bl.