Oncology R&D
JK08, an immunocytokine fusion protein designed to synergistically widen the therapeutic windows of validated cancer targets CTLA-4 and IL-15.
JK06, the first clinical-stage biparatopic antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting the cancer-associated oncofetal protein 5T4.
Oncology statistics
One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime1
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease2
In 2021, there were an estimated 1,898,160 new cancer cases diagnosed and 608,570 cancer deaths in the U.S.3
Solid tumors represent approximately 90% of adult human cancers4
- https://www.cancer.org/
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
- https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html
- Cooper GM. The Cell: A Molecular Approach. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates; 2000. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9963
Immunotherapy is a promising and evolving treatment for cancer that harness the body’s own immune system to target and kill cancer cells. However, not everyone responds to treatment and some immunotherapies are associated with severe side effects, requiring new options for patients.
JK08 is a recombinant fusion protein consisting of a CTLA-4-specific antibody and an IL-15 fusion domain. The JK08 design builds upon a breadth of clinical studies with CTLA-4 antibodies and recombinant IL-15 molecules, which together portend synergistic effects in an antibody fusion construct.
5T4 is an oncofetal protein that is overexpressed in a wide range of tumor types, including lung, breast, renal and genitourinary cancers, and is associated with a poor prognosis and more aggressive tumor progression.
JK06 is a first-in-class quadrivalent, biparatopic ADC that selectively targets 5T4 with an MMAE payload. JK06 has demonstrated picomolar affinity for 5T4 and rapid internalization due to the biparatopic design. Together with stable, site-specific payload conjugation, JK06 has further demonstrated robust efficacy and a clean safety profile in non-clinical studies.
JK06 will be evaluated in an open-label, dose-escalation and expansion study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of JK06. Lean more about the Phase 1 clinical trial here.