 "Novartis ties up with Surface Oncology to grow immuno-oncology pipeline")
Giving a boost to its diverse and deep immuno-oncology pipeline, Novartis has formed a strategic alliance and licensing agreement with Surface Oncology. The agreement gives Novartis access to four pre-clinical programs that target regulatory T cell populations, inhibitory cytokines, and immunosuppressive metabolites in the tumour microenvironment. These programs will be explored as monotherapies and in combination with other complementary therapies in Novartis' immuno-oncology and targeted therapy portfolios.
“We have several programs now in the clinic that aggressively address the complexities of the tumour microenvironment. This alliance with Surface Oncology is another building block in our strategy to develop a portfolio of programs that we believe will lead the next wave of immuno-oncology medicines,” said Mark Fishman, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
At the start of 2015 Novartis launched a new immuno-oncology research team led by cancer vaccine pioneer Glenn Dranoff. In a short period of time, this team has rapidly built a broad portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical programs focused on stimulating the body’s immune system to combat cancers through targeting critical regulatory steps in the anti-tumour immune response. Today, the company’s immuno-oncology portfolio includes novel checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) technology, myeloid cell targeting agents, the T cell stimulating factor IL-15, STING agonists that enhance immune recognition of cancers, and adenosine receptor antagonists and TGF-beta blocking antibodies that overcome immunosuppression in the tumour microenvironment.
This rich immuno-oncology pipeline together with a deep targeted therapy portfolio provides Novartis with the opportunity to attack cancer in powerful and complementary ways: through enhancing immune-mediated tumour destruction and promoting direct tumour cell killing. Together, these synergistic approaches may accomplish more durable clinical benefits for a larger proportion of cancer patients.
“We have several programs now in the clinic that aggressively address the complexities of the tumour microenvironment. This alliance with Surface Oncology is another building block in our strategy to develop a portfolio of programs that we believe will lead the next wave of immuno-oncology medicines,” said Mark Fishman, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
At the start of 2015 Novartis launched a new immuno-oncology research team led by cancer vaccine pioneer Glenn Dranoff. In a short period of time, this team has rapidly built a broad portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical programs focused on stimulating the body’s immune system to combat cancers through targeting critical regulatory steps in the anti-tumour immune response. Today, the company’s immuno-oncology portfolio includes novel checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) technology, myeloid cell targeting agents, the T cell stimulating factor IL-15, STING agonists that enhance immune recognition of cancers, and adenosine receptor antagonists and TGF-beta blocking antibodies that overcome immunosuppression in the tumour microenvironment.
This rich immuno-oncology pipeline together with a deep targeted therapy portfolio provides Novartis with the opportunity to attack cancer in powerful and complementary ways: through enhancing immune-mediated tumour destruction and promoting direct tumour cell killing. Together, these synergistic approaches may accomplish more durable clinical benefits for a larger proportion of cancer patients.