8:00 am Registration & Morning Coffee
8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
9:00 am To Be Announced
Exploring Complement Targets & Unique Complement Drug Development Considerations in the Cancer Setting
9:30 am Inside-Out of Complement in Cancer Immunotherapy
Synopsis
- Examining why the role of complement in cancer is complex
- Investigating how the location of complement proteins expression and activation might determine its effect on tumorigenesis
- New anticancer therapeutic strategies need to take this complexity into account
10:00 am Finding Optimal Targets for Complement-Based Cancer Therapy
Synopsis
- Despite strong preclinical evidence on a role of complement in promoting cancer, complement-based cancer therapies have not yet advanced to the clinic
- Recent pre- and clinical studies suggest that progression of several subsets of renal cell carcinoma can be driven by complement-mediated mechanisms, therefore, these subsets are potential targets for complement-based intervention
- Levels of complement fragments in plasma associate with the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors
10:30 am Morning Refreshments & Networking Break
11:30 am Expanding Horizons in Cancer Therapeutics Targeting the Complement Pathway
Synopsis
- Unravelling novel intricacies of complement cancer nexus will offer key insights
- Are mechanistic models authentic predictors of clinical scenario?
- Discussing why the selection of the right patient subsets for complement inhibition is the path forward
12:00 pm Complement as a Natural Adjuvant to Promote Anti-Tumor Immunity in Cancer Therapy
Synopsis
- Exploring how the complement system interacts with the tumor microenvironment in driving anti-tumor immunity in cancer
- Human-derived antibodies can cause complement activation, tumor-specific cytotoxicity, and anti-tumor immunity
- Evaluating implications for metrics in measuring success of complement therapy in cancer, and subsequent novel trial design
12:30 pm Long-Term Graft Survival Achieved in NHP Recipients of Life- Sustaining, Endogenous Retrovirus-Free, Human-Compatible (Huco™) Porcine Renal Xenografts
Synopsis
- Understand how genome-wide inactivation of porcine retroviruses greatly reduces the risk of zoonosis in xenotransplantation
- Human immune-compatibility of retrovirus-free porcine organ donors was enhanced using multiplex, precision genome editing to produce a safe source of human-compatible (HuCo™) porcine organ donors for human transplantation
- Demonstrating how human complement regulatory protein expressing HuCo™ donor kidneys show long-term survival in an NHP model of life-sustaining renal xenotransplantation
1:00 pm Networking Lunch
2:00 pm C5a Neutralization by Clinical-Stage AON-D21 Shows Promise in Animal Models from Pneumonia to Lung Cancer
Synopsis
- AON-D21 is a mirror-image (L-)RNA aptamer that binds C5a and inhibits its signaling on C5aR1 and C5aR2
- Analyze preclinical data showing that C5a-inhibition with AON-D21 is efficacious in diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis and lung cancer
- AON-D21 has passed Phase 1 First in Human studies and will enter a Phase 2 Proof of Concept trial shortly
Harnessing the Power of Locally Targeted Complement Inhibitors to Achieve Desired Therapeutic Safety & Efficacy Profiles
2:30 pm Developing Locally Targeted Complement Therapeutics
Synopsis
- Reviewing strategies for locally targeted inhibitors
- Addressing pharmacology challenges of characterizing locally targeted drugs
- Discussing the advantages of local targeting – potency, durability, and safety
3:00 pm Targeted Delivery Platform of sC3, a Complement Depleting Protein, Using Viral Delivery, Conjugate Guidance, & Localized Application Modalities
Synopsis
- Discover how specific cell types in the retina and kidney can be targeted to express sC3
- Conjugate guidance and tissue specific local delivery are being developed to increase efficacy and decrease off target effects
- Taken together, these technologies allow Cascade to optimize treatment based on the therapeutic target
Discussing Market Access Strategies for Complement Targeted Therapies in Different Geos
3:30 pm Opportunities for Complement Therapy in China
Synopsis
- Reflecting on the significant opportunities available for complement therapies in China
- Examining how the considerations for development in China differ from US/EU
- Outlining unique strategies that can be employed for approval of complement inhibitors in rare disease indications