NewLink Genetics Presents Data at the AACR 2014 Annual Meeting

NewLink Genetics Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercialising novel immunotherapeutics to improve treatment options for patients with cancer, presented preclinical data related to the immunostimulatory and anti-tumour effects of its two clinical-stage checkpoint inhibitors targeting the IDO pathway, indoximod and, in combination with anti-PD-1/PD-L antibodies. The data was presented in a poster session at the  (AACR) 2014 Annual Meeting. In addition, new compounds that mediate TDO (tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase) activity were presented.

"Key immune checkpoints such as IDO and PD-1 are interrelated and as a result, combinatorial therapeutic interventions may prove more effective than single agents," commented Dr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NewLink. "These data demonstrate that combining multiple immunotherapies and in this case multiple checkpoint inhibitors that target the IDO pathway and PD1/PDL, is effective in reducing local tumour-mediated immunosuppression and providing potential for enhanced anti-tumour activity. In addition, we are exploring the role of TDO, an enzyme functionally and structurally related to IDO, and are beginning to develop TDO inhibitors as potential new anti-cancer compounds that function on their own and in combination with IDO inhibitors."

In a poster presentation entitled "Synergistic antitumour effects of combinatorial immune checkpoint inhibition with anti-PD-1/PD-L antibodies and the IDO pathway inhibitors  and indoximod in the context of active immunotherapy," NewLink researchers and collaborators at  presented preclinical data demonstrating that combining IDO pathway inhibitors with agents targeting immune checkpoints provided enhanced anti-tumor effect compared to either agent alone in mouse models of established tumours.

• Demonstrated synergistic effects of combining , indoximod and anti-PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2 antibodies to block both the IDO and PD pathways resulting in enhanced anti-tumor effects compared to blocking each pathway independently. This synergy was demonstrated in the context of established tumors treated with otherwise ineffective chemo-immunotherapy regimens.

In a second poster presentation entitled "Novel specific- and dual- tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) and indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitors for tumor immunotherapy," NewLink researchers presented preclinical data demonstrating novel TDO-specific, IDO-specific and TDO and IDO dual inhibitors as potential new anti-cancer compounds that could function individually or in combinations to control TDO and/or IDO activity.

• Discovered a novel class of compounds that show potent and selective TDO inhibition with 10-200-fold increased potency, as well as compounds that show potent IDO-specific inhibition and dual inhibition of TDO and IDO.