LIfT BioSciences announces breakthrough preclinical data demonstrating the dual mode of action commonly believed necessary for curing solid tumours

LIfT BioSciences announces breakthrough preclinical data demonstrating the dual mode of action commonly believed necessary for curing solid tumours

• IMANp is the world’s first neutrophil-based cell therapy, generated from the haematopoietic stem cells of donors with exceptional anti-cancer innate immunity
• Combined cytotoxic and immunomodulatory mechanisms mark a major advancement in the development of novel solid tumour cancer treatments
• Destruction of cancer cells, recruitment of host immune system and favourable remodelling of the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment across all solid tumour types tested
• Clinical trials to commence in H1 2024

London, 21 March 2023 –LIfT BioSciences, (‘LIfT’ or ‘the Company’), a rapidly emerging biotech company bringing to market a first-in-class allogeneic innate cell therapy, today announces exciting
preclinical data demonstrating that its Immunomodulatory Alpha Neutrophil product (IMANp) possesses both cytotoxic and immunomodulatory functionalities that are commonly now sighted by medical professionals as being critical for potentially curing solid tumours in patients, learning from the experience of other cell therapies that have struggled to realise their potential in the clinic.

New data released today highlight that IMANp demonstrates a dual mechanism of action, exhibiting unparalleled direct cytotoxicity in combination with exquisite orchestration of the host immune system. The presence of IMANp promoted unprecedented recruitment of host immune cells into solid tumour preclinical models, as well as their activation, which correlated with enhanced tumour cell killing. Furthermore, enhanced proliferation and IFN-γ were observed from tumour infiltrating lymphocytes following co-culture with IMANp.

The immune-modulation was demonstrated to successfully recruit the rest of the immune system and suppress a immunosuppressive tumour micro-environment (TME). IMANp stimulated the recruitment, activation, and proliferation of CD4, CD8, NK cells and patient tumour infiltrating lymphocytes and resulted in
2-3 fold increases in tumour cell killing. This marks a major breakthrough, showing that the patient’s immune system can be recruited and activated to infiltrate otherwise cold tumour micro-environment and turn them hot. The effect also worked for stimulating other allogeneic immune cells including allogeneic NK cells and T-Cells.

The data also highlight the potential for IMANp to be used not only as a monotherapy, but in combination with other therapies where efficacy is limited due to the absence of effector cells in the tumour microenvironment, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Combination with IMANp could significantly increase response rates to ICIs, which currently stand at 25-30%.

To further consolidate the preclinical data demonstrating cytotoxicity and immunomodulation by IMANp, we have generated successful functional proof of concept data for iPSC-derived and gene engineered IMANp products.

Alex Blyth, Chief Executive Officer of LIfT BioSciences, commented: “We are delighted with the continued positive data that we are observing with our allogeneic innate cell therapy further supporting our plans to move into clinical trials next year. The data from this preclinical study validates that our alpha neutrophil product, IMANp, possesses a unique dual mode of action with direct anti-tumour activity and potent immunomodulatory properties, marking a major advancement in the development of novel cancer treatments. Our continued strong results have created international interest in our approach as we continue to develop a GMP manufacturing process in preparation for our clinical trials, and I look forward to providing progress updates on LIfT Biosciences as we continue to make great strides.”

These latest results come after LIfT announced results of research conducted in partnership with Champions Oncology in 2022, showing that N-LIfT, its Neutrophil-based Leukocyte Infusion Therapy, showed complete destruction of a range of solid patient derived tumouroid models. In February 2023, LIfT also announced it had entered into a manufacturing partnership with Minaris Regenerative Medicine to develop a Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant manufacturing process to supply LIfT’s clinical trial programmes in Europe.

About LIfT BioSciences:
LIfT Biosciences is a biotech bringing to patients a first -in-class allogeneic innate cell therapy platform called Neutrophil Only Leukocyte Infusion Therapy (N-LIfT). This breakthrough platform uses a patented process whereby the haematopoietic stem cells of donors are used to generate Immunomodulatory Alpha Neutrophils (IMANs) with exceptional anti-cancer innate immunity, to address the inherent limitations of the current class of allogeneic immune cell therapies. The N-LIfT platform can be used to produce different classes of IMANs, encompassing both iPSC-derived and gene engineered variants.

The Company’s vision is to develop the world’s first cell bank of off-the-shelf allogeneic ‘cancer killing and immune-modulatory neutrophils’ to deliver a portfolio of immuno-oncology cell therapies to treat solid tumours. LIfT BioSciences was founded by Alex Blyth following the death of his mother to pancreatic cancer. See www.liftbiosciences.com.

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