Neoleukin Therapeutics presents preclinical data on NEO-TRA1 at ASH

Neoleukin Therapeutics presented data on NEO-TRA1, a precision-tuned agonist of the IL-2 receptor beta and gamma subunits that is targeted to and selectively expands inhibitory T-regulatory cells. The data was disclosed on Monday as an oral presentation at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. The presentation highlights two important features of Neoleukin’s de novo protein technology: the ability to target de novo cytokine mimetics to specific cell types, i.e. T-regulatory cells; and precision-tuned de novo payloads that have minimal effects on non-targeted cells. By separating the targeting domain from the cytokine receptor agonist, Neoleukin scientists have created a potentially modular system for the cis-targeting of de novo proteins to specific immune cell subsets. In preclinical models, potent and selective expansion of Treg cells was demonstrated in vitro in human cells from healthy donors and from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus as well as in vivo in humanized mouse models.