Opsyon Therapeutics

OPSYON develops novel immunotherapies by combining immune checkpoint inhibition with antibody-based tumor targeting in one drug. The technology confines the benefits of the CD47-SIRPα immune checkpoint inhibition to tumor cells only providing cancer patients with an effective therapy with reduced systemic side effects and the possibility for long-term survival and a better quality of life. Our molecules consist of a tumor specific antibody fused to a domain which binds to CD47 and blocks the interaction of CD47 to SIRPa, thereby inhibiting the don't eat me signal. The tumor specific antibody has high affinity for its target and serves as docking domain, whereas the CD47 blocking occurs only with low affinity and only if the the antibody has previously bound to its target on tumor cells. With this dock and block mechanism, side effects due to systemic CD47 inhibition are avoided. We use an IgG1 antibody and can therefore leverage the complete repertoire of immune cells: NK-cells and monocytes/macrophages for direct and fast tumor cell elimination and T-cells for a prolonged anti-tumor response. Our lead candidate OPS-121 targets the aggressive hematological disease acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and we have a solid data package demonstrating efficacy and an improved safety profile as well as manufacturability and stability studies. An additional pipeline candidate, OPS-301, targets solid tumors such as pancreatic and ovarian cancer. Our vision is to make cancer treatment more effective while reducing side effects and thus improve quality of life and outcomes for cancer patients.