Investment: KAHR

Amount: $5 million

Drug: DSP107

Targets: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). Both cancers affect the bone marrow and the production of blood cells. 

Prevalence: Together, about 31,000 people in the United States are struck by the two cancers. 

The firm: KAHR develops novel immune-recruiting therapies that treat cancer at the source by unleashing the synergistic power of the body’s innate and adaptive immune responses. The company is leveraging its proprietary MIRP technology to promote better and safer therapeutic avenues by developing new immuno-recruitment drugs that unmask cancer camouflage mechanisms, while simultaneously recruiting a targeted immune response.

How DSP107 works: DSP107 acts by both removing the protective signals that cancer cells use to hide from the immune system and by activating T-cells to strengthen the immune attack against the cancer.

How it’s different: Proteins with different functions are fused into one drug molecule that activates both branches of the immune system, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of immunotherapy to treat tumors that are resistant to conventional therapies. 

Trials:  The Phase 1b trial is led by MD Anderson’s Dr. Naval Daver, Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia. Results of the trial are expected in the third quarter of 2024.  DSP107 is also being investigated in a Phase 2 trial in combination with Roche’s Tecentriq in solid tumors.

Website: https://kahrbio.com