Kineta enters research agreement with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Kineta entered a research agreement with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center to evaluate VISTA expression as a potential biomarker in cancer patients from Kineta’s ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating KVA12123, the company’s VISTA blocking immunotherapy, alone and in combination with pembrolizumab. The primary objective is to evaluate VISTA as a biomarker to guide patient selection and treatment optimization for VISTA-targeted therapies where no standardized scoring method currently exists. Similar to standards established for PD-L1 immune checkpoint, there is a need to quantify VISTA expression in the tumor microenvironment to properly guide patient selection. KVA12123 is a fully human engineered IgG1 monoclonal antibody that was designed to bind to VISTA through a unique epitope at both physiologic and acidic pH levels. KVA12123 may be an effective immunotherapy for many types of cancer including NSCLC, colorectal, renal cell carcinoma, head and neck, and ovarian. Initial clinical data from Kineta’s ongoing Phase 1/2 study of KVA12123 in advanced solid tumors is anticipated by end of 2023.