Suzhou, March 8, 2019 - Alphamab Oncology and TOT Biopharm Company Limited (TOT Biopharm), both located in Suzhou Industrial Park, jointly announced that they have reached an intention to cooperate and explore an innovative combination therapy of KN046 and TAB008. 

KN046, a PD-L1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody developed by Alphamab Oncology, is currently in Phase Ia/Ib clinical trials in China and Australia and will launch several Phase II clinical trials for multiple cancer indications soon. TAB008, a humanized VEGF antibody developed by TOT Biopharm, is currently in late stage Phase III clinical trials in China.

KN046 is a bispecific antibody designed to target PD-(L)1 and CTLA-4, the only two commercially validated immuno-oncology targets. KN046 has shown preliminary good safety and efficacy in clinical trials. This product can block both PD-L1 and CTLA-4 pathways and has a synergistic effect in tumor immunity. Meanwhile, studies have shown the inhibition of VEGF can create a microenvironment that favors the action of PD-L1, potentially enabling the PD-L1/CTLA-4 and VEGF combo to provide improved immune response and efficacy, making the collaboration between Alphamab Oncology and TOT Biopharm to develop an innovative therapy in the combination of KN046 and TAB008 meaningful and exciting.

Dr. Ting Xu, Chairman and CEO of Alphamab Oncology, said: “It’s a great pleasure to have the opportunity to cooperate with TOT Biopharm. TAB008 is a high-quality biosimilar candidate to Avastin®, Roche’s cancer blockbuster. We believe TAB008’s regulation of immune microenvironment could generate a very strong synergistic effect with KN046, which has potential to improve efficacy in a variety of solid tumors. We’ll work together to quickly advance the new combination to clinical stage."

Chunying Huang, CEO of TOT Biopharm, said, “TOT Biopharm and Alphamab Oncology are both honored as “Suzhou Incubated Unicorn Company of the Year of 2018”. The strategic cooperation of the two companies to explore innovative therapies for the combined use of TAB008 and KN046 could accelerate the development of innovative oncology treatment to meet the urgent medical needs."

About KN046

KN046 is the world's first PD-L1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody solely developed by Alphamab Oncology internally. KN046 has shown good safety profile in both preclinical and clinical studies and encouraging preliminary efficacy results in Phase I clinical trials. The novel designs of KN046 makeit well ahead of peer PD-L1/CTLA-4 bispecific globally, with the potential to become the cornerstone of the second generation of immuno-oncology therapy.

About TAB008

Bevacizumab is a humanized anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody. Currently, except for Roche's bevacizumab (trade name: Avastin®), no biosimilar product has been approved in China yet. TAB008, the bevacizumab biosimilar drug developed by TOT Biopharm, has shown high similarity with Avastin® in pharmacokinetics and safety in Phase I clinical trial, which is a double-blind, head-to-head pharmacokinetics and safety with Avastin®, and report of the findings has been published in ASCO. TAB008 is now in Phase III clinical trials.  

About Alphamab Oncology  

Alphamab Oncology is a leading biopharmaceutical company in China dedicated to the development of innovative biologics for cancer therapy globally. So far, four drug candidates in Alphamab Oncology's pipeline have advanced into clinical development phase. With multiple in-house proprietary platforms for innovative biopharmaceuticals Alphamab Oncology has built a robust pipeline in oncology/immunology to benefit cancer patients around the world.

Visit http://www.alphamabonc.com for more information.

About TOT Biopharm

TOT Biopharm, founded in July 2010, is a bio-pharmaceutical company specializing in developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative oncology drugs. TOT Biopharm has developed a robust oncology drug pipeline, including monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), oncolytic virus products, and specialty chemical drugs (including liposomal drugs).

Visit http://www.totbiopharm.cn for more information.

Contacts:
Alphamab Oncology
Fengzhang Guan, +86-512-62850800 Extension 8807
fengzhangguan@alphamabonc.com