GSK selects first clinical candidate in discovery collaboration with Immunocore

The selected candidate, ImmTAC, will address a target relevant in several cancer indications such as synovial sarcoma, bladder and non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancers.

Immunocore will carry out further preclinical testing and cGMP manufacture before progressing the candidate to phase I clinical development.

Immunocore’s technology is focused on small protein molecules, dubbed ImmTACs, that allow the immune system to recognize and kill cancerous or bacterially/virally infected cells.

ImmTACs are synthetic soluble T cell receptors (TCRs) that detect diseased cells featuring disease specific targets.

Immunocore chief scientific officer said Bent Jakobsen: "Our proprietary ImmTACs are soluble TCRs that naturally recognise diseased cells with ultra-high affinity and enable circulating T cells to be re-directed to kill the diseased cells.

"We believe that this technology has significant potential in the treatment of a range of cancers, and we are delighted to be working with GSK as it moves towards clinical development."

GSK oncology R&D vice president Axel Hoos said: As GSK continues to explore potential next generation immuno-oncology therapies, we look forward to learning more about this asset as development progresses."