Yuhan Corporation Announces Preclinical Results of Two Immuno-Oncology Drugs at AACR

YH32367, Efficacy in HER2-Expressing Tumor Preclinical Studies
Joint Research with ABL Bio
Phase 1 IND Submission on 30th

YH24907, IDO-1 Enzyme Inhibition Mechanism

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Yuhan Corporation will present the preclinical research results of 'YH32367(ABL105)' and 'YH29407', immune checkpoint inhibitors under development, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 2022).

The research results will be presented as a poster at the AACR 2022 Annual Meeting, held from April 8 to 13 (local time) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The related abstract was previously released on the conference website on the 8th.

YH32367 is a drug jointly researched by Yuhan Corporation and ABL Bio. It is an anticancer agent that specifically binds to tumor cells expressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and increases the anticancer activity of immune cells by stimulating the T-cell immune receptor 4-1BB. Yuhan Corporation plans to present the preclinical results and clinical plans at this conference.

YH32367 is a bispecific antibody developed for patients resistant to existing anticancer treatments in various solid tumors such as breast, stomach, and lung cancers by increasing tumor-specific immune activation while inhibiting tumor cell growth. In various preclinical experiments on HER2-expressing tumors, it showed significantly superior anticancer efficacy compared to control antibodies, and safety was confirmed in preclinical toxicity tests. Compared to competing drugs with similar mechanisms to YH32367, it is expected to have relatively lower side effects and superior anticancer efficacy, raising expectations that it will stand out in the global anticancer drug market in the future.

Yuhan Corporation applied for Phase 1 clinical trial approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 30th. The goal is to start Phase 1 clinical trials in the second half of the year. Clinical Phase 1 trials are also planned to be conducted in Australia.

YH29407 is a small molecule immune checkpoint inhibitor developed by Yuhan Corporation in collaboration with Professor Byung-Chul Cho, head of the Lung Cancer Center at Yonsei Cancer Hospital. It inhibits the IDO-1 enzyme, which is overexpressed in cancer cells and changes the tumor microenvironment to suppress immune cell activity. At this AACR, the main preclinical efficacy results will be presented by Professor Cho’s research team.

Compared to known IDO-1 inhibitors, YH29407 shows superior pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles. According to the disclosed results, YH29407 effectively increased T cells in the tumor microenvironment when co-administered with PD-1 antibodies compared to control drugs. Excellent antitumor effects and improved survival rates were also demonstrated through animal models.

A Yuhan Corporation official stated, "Based on these research results, YH29407 is expected to be an optimal combination drug with immune checkpoint inhibitors including PD-1/PD-L1 for solid tumor patients with IDO-1 overexpression," adding, "We expect it to improve the low response rates of immune checkpoint inhibitors and provide new opportunities for treating patients unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors."

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