Enara Bio and Collaborators Present Progress Towards Developing MR1-targeted T-Cell Therapies at 12th International CD1-MR1 EMBO Meeting

OXFORD, England, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Enara Bio, a biotechnology company advancing novel T-cell receptor (TCR) directed immunotherapies against unconventional, shared, cancer-specific antigens, today announces that three abstracts from the Company and its academic collaborators have been selected for presentation at the 12^th International CD1-MR1 European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Meeting, which will be held in Gothenberg, Sweden, 22-26 May 2022.

The three abstracts cover pioneering research being conducted by Enara Bio in collaboration with leading immunology and MR1 research groups at Monash University and the University of Oxford towards the identification and validation of cancer-specific MR1 ligands and the development of MR1-targeted T-cell receptor cell therapies (TCR-T).

MR1 is an unconventional antigen-presenting molecule that presents metabolites to the immune system in the context of cancer and infection. The monomorphic nature of MR1 strongly suggests that therapies based on MR1-displayed antigens could be effective across the entire human population. These unique properties make MR1 a promising target for off-the-shelf, HLA-independent, TCR-based immunotherapies for solid tumors.

The first presentation, from Enara scientists, highlights the progress the Company is making with its lead autologous MR1-targeting TCR-T program. The two other presentations, led by scientists from Jamie Rossjohn's and Tony Purcell's groups at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), and Nicola Ternette's group at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Medicine, describe novel immunopeptidomic and metabolomic methods to identify and characterize the cancer-specific MR1 ligandome.

Joe Dukes, Vice President, Head of Research at Enara Bio, commented: "We are very pleased to be presenting important abstracts at the upcoming CD1-MR1 EMBO meeting, which showcase the continued developments we are making in partnership with our world-class collaborators to advance the next generation of cancer immunotherapies designed to treat a broad patient population. We have made remarkable progress in our mission to characterize unconventional immunotherapy targets, such as ligands presented by MR1, which we hope will enable development of a pipeline of product candidates that can be advanced into clinical development."

Details of the poster presentations (which will be available on the Company website at the time of the meeting) are as follows:

Enara Bio

-  Abstract Title: A novel TCR-T cell therapy targeting a cancer-specific antigen presented by monomorphic MR1 to overcome the challenge of HLA restricted TCR therapies.
-  Presenter: Dr. Jonathan Silk

Monash University

-  Abstract Title: Design and testing of cleavable constructs for identification and functional validation of MR1 ligands.
-  Presenter: Dr. Patricia Illing

The University of Oxford

-  Abstract Title: Development of a metabolomics-based MR1 ligand discovery platform using proteomics instrumentation
-  Presenter: Dr. Thierry Schmidlin

About Enara Bio

Enara Bio's mission is to shine a light on unconventional targets and develop the next generation of cancer immunotherapies designed to treat a broad patient population. Enara Bio is exploring the hidden depths of cancer and T-cell biology to discover and characterize novel immunotherapy targets, such as MR1-presented ligands and Dark Antigens™, which arise from altered cellular processes in cancer cells. We are pioneering approaches to exploit these targets with TCR-directed therapy and other immunotherapeutic modalities. To achieve our mission, we are leveraging our differentiated MR1 ligand complex, Dark Antigen™ and TCR discovery platforms that integrate bioinformatics, immunopeptidomics, metabolomics and immunology in our Oxford, UK-based research lab alongside our extensive immunotherapy development expertise.

Enara Bio is backed by leading life science investors, including SV Health Investors, the founding investor, together with RA Capital and Samsara Biocapital. We have a major strategic partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover and validate novel Dark Antigens in up to three tumor types and collaborate with a number of world-class academic institutions, including the Francis Crick Institute, Cardiff University, Monash University, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Oxford, to help drive our differentiated science.

For further information visit: www.enarabio.com 

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Enara Bio Limited
Kevin Pojasek, CEO
Tel: +44(0)1865 618 828
Email: info@enarabio.com

MEDiSTRAVA Consulting
Frazer Hall, Mark Swallow, Eleanor Perkin
Tel: +44 (0)203 928 6900
Email: enarabio@medistrava.com