AbbVie Forges $105 Million+ CD39 Inhibitor Alliance With Tizona

Privately-held Tizona Therapeutics snagged $105 million in upfront cash as its cancer antibody TTX-030 is the centerpiece of a collaborative effort with Illinois-based AbbVie. The two companies intend to combine their R&D capabilities with a focus on CD39-targeted therapeutics. CD39 is the enzyme that is responsible for a key immune regulatory action. The ATP-adenosine axis has become a focus of research in the tumor microenvironment due to its ability to control the inflammatory and suppressive activities of immune cells. CD39 is the enzyme responsible for that action. Tizona’s TTX-030 is an inhibitor of CD39. An investigational new drug application for TTX-030 has been accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The idea is that by blocking the actions of CD39, TTX-030 will prevent the formation of immune suppressive extracellular adenosine. In addition to preventing the formation of suppressive adenosine, TTX-030 also prevents the degradation of ATP. By doing so, that preserves its ability to stimulate dendritic and myeloid-derived cells responsible for innate immunity and immune cell priming necessary for adaptive immunity, the company said. It’s this potential impact on the tumor microenvironment that caught AbbVie’s attention. Mo Trikha, head of oncology early development at AbbVie, said there is tremendous promise in exploring ways that the tumor microenvironment can be modulated to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.