MacroGenics Presents Pre-clinical Data On New DART Candidate, MGD011

(RTTNews) - MacroGenics, Inc. (MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, reported the presentation of pre-clinical data for MGD011, a humanized CD19 x CD3 Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting or DART protein, at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology or ASH, taking place in San Francisco, CA. These data demonstrate potent T-cell mediated anti-tumor activity in preclinical models.

MGD011, a humanized CD19 x CD3 bispecific DART protein, is being developed for the treatment of B-cell hematological malignancies.

Liqin Liu, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at MacroGenics, presented a poster titled: MGD011, Humanized CD19 x CD3 DART Protein with Enhanced Pharmacokinetic Properties, Demonstrates Potent T-Cell Mediated Anti-Tumor Activity in Preclinical Models and Durable B-Cell Depletion in Cynomolgus Monkeys Following Once-a-Week Dosing.

Chief Executive of MacroGenics noted: "CD19-targeted therapies have generated a great deal of excitement and based on our pre-clinical data, we believe that MGD011 has strong potential in the treatment of patients with certain types of hematological malignancies."

The pre-clinical trials investigated the ability of MGD011 to mediate anti-tumor activity. These studies showed potent anti-tumor activity in vitro and in mouse leukemia/lymphoma tumor models, with high complete response rates and no evidence of relapse over the study duration. MGD011, whose components cross-react with the corresponding cynomolgus monkey antigens, displayed prolonged pharmacokinetic properties in this species, consistent with that of a monoclonal antibody, the company said.