April 5, 2018 in Kineta Press Release

Kineta Immuno-oncology Unveils New Data Demonstrating Tumor Immunity in Multiple Tumor Models

Kineta Immuno-oncology Unveils New Data Demonstrating Tumor Immunity in Multiple Tumor Models

Small molecule RIG-I agonist induces innate immune responses, immunogenic tumor cell death and in vivo protective immune responses in a colon carcinoma model

Tumor regression also demonstrated in B16F10 melanoma model

SEATTLE, WA, April 5, 2018 – Kineta Immuno-oncology, LLC, a biotechnology company focused on developing disruptive technologies to turn cold tumors hot, recently presented new data on their RIG-I Immuno-oncology program at the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology: Cancer Immunotherapy Combinations.

Dr. Peter Probst, Kineta Immuno-oncology Vice President and Head of Immunology, presented new data on the RIG-I agonist lead chemical series which activates RIG-I-dependent signaling to stimulate chemokine/cytokine production by human PBMCs, and induces direct activation of dendritic cells. The small molecule RIG-I agonists demonstrate significant reduction in tumor growth in two mouse tumor models; CT26 colon carcinoma and B16F10 melanoma.

Additionally, a newly identified RIG-I lead candidate with potent innate immune activation and immunogenic cell death (ICD) activities showing orthogonal confirmation around the lead series was presented. In tumor cells specifically, lead candidates induce the intrinsic apoptosis pathway and trigger ICD in a RIG-I dependent manner. Additionally, in vivo experiments demonstrate tumor immunity as a single dose of compound inhibits tumor growth, enhances survival and causes complete regression of tumor growth in approximately 30% of mice. Mice showing complete tumor regression were resistant to re-challenge for up to 6 months after primary tumor implantation. Animals that were responsive to drug treatment also demonstrated an increase in tumor antigen specific T cells compared to tumor bearing animals.

These data demonstrate that Kineta’s small molecule RIG-I agonists activate the innate immune response, induce ICD in tumor cells in vivo and elicit an anti-tumor memory T cell response controlling tumor growth”, said Dr. Kristin Bedard, Kineta Immuno-oncology Chief Scientific Officer. “Demonstrating significant tumor regression in multiple tumor models and selecting additional drug candidates from the lead chemical series are significant advancements for the program”.


Kineta, Inc. is an emerging biotech company that fills a void in the biopharmaceutical industry by efficiently advancing first in class immuno-therapies from discovery to proof of concept.  Kineta is developing a focused pipeline of novel therapies that address critical unmet patient needs in oncology, chronic pain and biodefense. We actively collaborate with a broad array of private, government, biodefense and industry partners to advance our innovative research. For more information on Kineta, Inc. visit our website, www.kinetabio.com

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