Kleo Pharmaceuticals has entered into a research collaboration with South Korea -based Green Cross LabCell (GCLC) to rapidly advance testing of both advanced technology platforms in combination as a potential therapy for COVID-19 patients.
Earlier this year, Kleo received approval from the US FDA to proceed with an antibody recruiting molecule (ARM) NK cell combination therapy clinical trial for the treatment of newly diagnosed, multiple myeloma patients. The ARM in that trial targets the cell surface protein CD38 and uses autologous cytokine induced memory like (CIML) NK cells to kill tumor cells.
"Being able to rapidly develop novel COVID-19 therapies highlights core attributes of Kleo's platform technology ‒ namely speed and modularity," said Doug Manion, MD, CEO of Kleo Pharmaceuticals. "As a physician trained in infectious disease, I was on the forefront of the HIV infection epidemic in the 1980s. We bear a responsibility to advance our anti-COVID-19 program as rapidly as possible to determine its utility in the fight. To that end, we are honored to collaborate with GCLC, whose allogeneic NK cells are already in late-stage clinical development in immuno-oncology and projected to advance into the clinic for COVID-19 in the second half of this year."
Kleo's ARM technology platform can rapidly develop fully synthetic bifunctional molecules that redirect a patient's own antibodies for therapeutic effect. In the context of a COVID-19 therapeutic, the ARM has multiple proposed mechanisms of action. First, the ARM acts as a neutralizing antibody to block direct binding on the virus to human cells. Second, the ARM enlists immune effector cells to eliminate viral particles and/or infected cells. Third, the ARM can produce a long-term vaccination effect by activating and expanding immune memory cells.