First patient cells collected in XNK’s preclinical bladder cancer study
XNK Therapeutics AB (“XNK”) today announced that the first patient has donated cells in the recently initiated preclinical evaluation of the autologous NK cell product XNK03 in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. The study is performed in collaboration with Anders Ullén’s research group at the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
This is the company’s first solid tumor indication and complements the ongoing Phase II clinical study in multiple myeloma (MM) and the preclinical proof-of-concept study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) using patient samples from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Between 10-15 patients with advanced urothelial cancer will be enrolled in the study and will donate cells before and after chemotherapy treatment.
“The possibility to confirm that our proprietary technology can successfully expand and activate NK cells from the exact patient population we intend to treat in the future is an important step towards a clinical study,” said Johan Liwing, CEO of XNK Therapeutics. “We are enthusiastic about this joint effort with the Karolinska University Hospital to seek out more effective treatments in a patient population with high and unmet medical need.”
Urothelial cancer is the most common form of bladder cancer. More than 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are expected in the US in 2022 alone, according to the American Cancer Society.
For more information, please contact:
Johan Liwing, CEO, XNK Therapeutics
Tel: +46 706 70 36 75
E-mail: johan.liwing@xnktherapeutics.com
About XNK Therapeutics AB
XNK Therapeutics is a clinical stage, immunotherapy company focusing its efforts on treating cancer by developing novel NK cell-based therapies. The company is at the forefront of the development of autologous NK cell-based products using its proprietary technology platform. The company’s platform technology and lead investigational candidate drug is developed specifically to target cancers, including settings where allogeneic cell products are not readily applicable. The Company’s objective is for its NK cell-based products to constitute key components in the cancer treatments of tomorrow. XNK Therapeutics is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. For more info, please visit http://www.xnktherapeutics.com
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About Bladder Cancer
According to the World Health Organization over 570,000 new cases of bladder cancer was diagnosed in 2020 globally. It is the 4th most common form of cancer in men and the American Cancer Society estimates that bladder cancer will cause over 17,000 deaths in 2022 in US alone. It affects mainly older people with 90% of patients being diagnosed at an age above 55 years. In locally advanced urothelial cancer, which constitutes about 30% of bladder cancers, the 5-year survival rate is below 40% and current treatments may include removal of the entire bladder, radiation, chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors. For metastatic disease the 5-year survival rate is limited to approximately 6% and current standard systemic treatments include chemotherapy, immunotherapy and antibody-drug conjugates.
