Hummingbird Bioscience, an innovative clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing precision therapies against hard-to-drug targets today announced that its abstract reporting pre-clinical results from its V-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) antibody, HMBD-002, has been selected for publication at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, to be held June 4-8, 2021.

The abstract reports pre-clinical studies that demonstrate HMBD-002's ability to induce an effective anti-tumor immune response, both as a monotherapy and in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab in multiple syngeneic and humanized xenograft models.

HMBD-002 is the only IgG4 isotype anti-VISTA antibody currently in development for the treatment of cancers with VISTA-mediated immune suppression, including triple negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The Phase 1 clinical trial for HMBD-002 is anticipated to commence later this year. 

About HMBD-002

HMBD-002 is a unique anti-VISTA neutralizing antibody, and the only IgG4 isotype anti-VISTA antibody currently in development. It was engineered to bind to VISTA at a specific site that is predicted to be essential for ligand-binding and function, thus inhibiting VISTA and neutralizing its immunosuppressive activity without depleting VISTA expressing cells that play many important roles in the immune system.

Pre-clinical studies have shown that HMBD-002 as a monotherapy inhibits tumor growth and significantly prolongs survival, with no observed toxicity. It has also shown synergy when used in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy.

HMBD-002 is being developed for multiple cancers that have strong evidence of VISTA mediated suppression both as a monotherapy and in combination with PD-1 inhibitor.

Hummingbird's first-in-class anti-VISTA therapeutic antibody is advancing to clinical trials with support from a US$13.1 million product development grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

About Hummingbird Bioscience

Hummingbird Bioscience is an innovative clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing precision therapies against hard-to-drug targets to improve treatment outcomes. We harness the latest advances in systems biology and data science to better understand and solve the underlying causes of disease and guide development of our therapeutics.

Enabled by our proprietary Rational Antibody Discovery platform, we discover antibodies against optimal yet elusive epitopes on important targets that have not been successfully drugged, unlocking novel mechanisms of action. We are advancing a rich pipeline of first- and best-in-class precision therapies in oncology and autoimmunity, in collaboration with global partners in academia and industry.

Our highly experienced teams in the US and Singapore span antibody discovery, pharmacology, production and clinical development. Together we aim to accelerate the journey of new drugs from concept to clinical care.