PureTech Health Plc (PRTC)

PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) (“PureTech” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, today announced the presentation of a scientific poster detailing additional promising preclinical results for its LYT-210 antibody atthe 2021 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Virtual Meeting.

LYT-210 is a novel, fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against T cells bearing γδ1 receptors, which are known to suppress the anti-tumor immune response. The new research shared at AACR demonstrates that LYT-210 is both highly specific and highly potent, rapidly inducing cell death of immune-suppressive γδ1 T cells, while sparing other T cells that play important roles in a healthy immune response. The research was conducted in vitro using both patient blood and cancer tissue. LYT-210 has potential as either a single agent or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and other anti-cancer treatments.

“The role of γδ1 T cells in cancer immune suppression has come into sharp focus in recent years. We now know that these cells deploy multiple immunosuppressive signals to dampen the anti-tumor response and enable the cancer to grow and spread,” said Aleksandra Filipovic, M.D. Ph.D., Head of Oncology at PureTech. “We are excited by these new data demonstrating that our LYT-210 therapeutic candidate can precisely target and swiftly deplete pathogenic γδ1 T cells. We believe that removing these culprits from the tumor microenvironment systemically may have the potential to reawaken the immune system and contribute to a strong anti-tumor response. Moreover, both we and others in the field have established that a heightened presence of pathogenic γδ1 T cells in tumor tissue and blood is correlated with more aggressive disease, poorer response to some therapies and a lower chance of survival. Given those links, we believe that the biomarker-centric approach we are developing as part of our γδ1 T cell program may have the potential to identify and select the patients who are most likely to benefit from LYT-210 in the clinic and beyond.”

γδ1 T cells are upregulated in multiple solid tumors including breast cancer, glioblastoma, melanoma and pancreatic cancer. They suppress the immune response through multiple mechanisms, including blocking effector T cells, hindering antigen-presenting dendritic cells, restricting the anti-tumoral activity of γδ2 T cells and attracting tumor-associated macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells to the tumor microenvironment. Pathogenic γδ1 T cells are distinct from cytotoxic γδ T cells, which are being used for adoptive T cell transfer or therapeutic engagement with bispecific antibodies. Depleting pathogenic γδ1 T cells has the capacity to modulate both innate and adaptive immunity, and their distinct phenotypic and functional properties make them excellent potential therapeutic targets.

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