Werewolf Therapeutics Announces Publication of Data Demonstrating the Preclinical Efficacy of WTX-124 in Delivering IL-2 Selectively to the Tumor Microenvironment

Excerpt from the Press Release:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Werewolf Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Werewolf”) (Nasdaq: HOWL), an innovative biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of conditionally activated therapeutics, announced the publication in Cancer Immunology Research of preclinical data for its lead molecule WTX-124, a systemically delivered Interleukin-2 (IL-2) INDUKINE™ molecule. The article, entitled “Discovery of a Conditionally Activated Interleukin-2 that Promotes Anti-tumor Immunity and Induces Tumor Regression,” includes preclinical data that demonstrate the efficacy of the design of WTX-124 in delivering IL-2 selectively to the tumor microenvironment where it stimulates a potent anti-tumor immune response.

“IL-2 is a cytokine that has delivered lasting therapeutic benefit through activation of anti-tumor immunity. To date, the clinical utility of systemically delivered recombinant human IL-2 has been hindered by serious side effects in normal tissues and poor pharmaceutical properties, including a short circulating half-life, which limits the ability to reach efficacious exposures in tumors,” said Cynthia Seidel-Dugan, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Werewolf and one of the article’s authors. “Our published preclinical data show that WTX-124 has an improved therapeutic window compared to recombinant human IL-2 in mouse models and the potential to minimize the toxicity associated with systemic IL-2 administration.”

Other key findings and data outlined in the article include:

• WTX-124 treatment triggers the infiltration and activation of T cells and natural killer cells in tumors and markedly shifts the immune activation profile of the tumor microenvironment.
• WTX-124 treatment of tumor-bearing mice results in immunological memory.
• WTX-124 has an improved therapeutic window compared to recombinant human IL-2 in the mouse.
• WTX-124 is stable in human serum and is processed by the majority of primary human tumor specimens tested.

Werewolf is developing WTX-124 as a potential monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in multiple tumor types. The Company has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to evaluate WTX-124 as a monotherapy and in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, in patients with solid tumors.

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