Andyforce, Taco Ventures, and Neotiex Joint Investment

Phase 2 Clinical Trial of AstraZeneca's Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Imfinzi in Combination
Preclinical Anticancer Drug Development Using STR-ARS Fusion Platform
Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Roche's 3rd Generation Immuno-Oncology Drug in Combination at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] AndyForce will invest an additional approximately KRW 26.9 billion in NeoTix Therapeutics (NeoTix), an Israeli company specializing in the research and development of new anticancer drugs. It is expected that the progress of the Phase 2 clinical trial of the immune-oncology drug based on the selective T cell activation (STR) platform will accelerate.

AndyForce announced on the 30th that it invested about KRW 26.9 billion in NeoTix, a new anticancer drug development company based on the STR platform. Taco Ventures, founded by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, also participated as a strategic investor alongside AndyForce in NeoTix's fundraising.

NeoTix's STR platform is a technology that codes the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, known to be specifically attacked by immune T cells, into cancer cells. NeoTix has already conducted combination administration with cytotoxic anticancer drugs used as first-line anticancer treatments, immune-oncology drugs, and immune checkpoint inhibitors at the preclinical stage. Complete remission, where cancer cells were completely eliminated, was confirmed.

The anticancer drug 'Anyara' being developed by NeoTix is currently undergoing a Phase 1b clinical trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose for combination administration with 'Imfinzi,' an immune checkpoint inhibitor from multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The related clinical trial is scheduled to be completed in the second half of this year, and NeoTix plans to proceed with Phase 2 clinical trials after obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

An AndyForce official said, "NeoTix is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial combining with 'Taxotere,' an anticancer drug from the large French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, for the treatment of solid tumors such as glioblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and breast cancer."

He added, "There are also plans to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School in combination with 'Tecentriq,' a third-generation PD-L1 immune-oncology drug from global pharmaceutical company Roche."

Furthermore, he introduced, "We aim to verify that combining the STR platform with induced hematologic cancer treatments can approximately double the anticancer treatment effect. NeoTix plans to expand more than four additional clinical trials."

The official also added, "Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, former president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and who has led more than 12 anticancer drug clinical trials to date, is expected to play a leading role in NeoTix's U.S. clinical trials."

NeoTix is conducting various new anticancer drug development research based on the STR platform in collaboration with CureBio, a subsidiary of AndyForce. NeoTix signed an MOU to develop new drug substances that combine the STR platform and CureBio's ARS platform.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.