Helsinki-based biotech company TILT Biotherapeutics has been awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for a three-year project focused on ovarian cancer immunotherapy research. The project aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TILT-123, the company’s lead clinical program, in combination with pembrolizumab in platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer patients. TILT-123 is an oncolytic adenovirus armed with two human cytokines that boost the patient’s immune response to better target and destroy cancer cells. The grant will support TILT Biotherapeutics’ efforts to develop new therapies for ovarian cancer, a disease with a critical need for improved treatments. TILT-123 is currently being investigated in international clinical trials, and the grant from the DOD marks a significant milestone in advancing these therapies to address the high unmet medical need in ovarian cancer.
TILT Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Helsinki, Finland, with an additional office in Boston, Massachusetts. Established over a decade ago as a spin-out from the University of Helsinki, the company focuses on developing cancer therapeutics utilizing oncolytic adenoviruses armed with molecules, such as cytokines, to activate T cells and target cancer cells. Their patented TILT® technology can be delivered intravenously, locoregionally, or intratumorally, modifying the tumor microenvironment to enhance the effectiveness of T-cell therapies. TILT’s lead asset, TILT-123 (Igrelimogene litadenorepvec), has shown promising results in international trials for various cancer indications. Collaborations with industry leaders like MSD and Merck KGaA underscore TILT’s commitment to advancing innovative cancer treatments.
TILT Biotherapeutics’ founder and CEO, Akseli Hemminki, a cancer clinician who has personally treated hundreds of cancer patients with oncolytic viruses, said, “We’re delighted to have been selected to receive our first U.S. grant. Working closely with the Mayo Clinic, it will support our efforts to unleash the full potential of oncolytic adenoviruses in treating ovarian cancer. We designed TILT-123 to improve the response rates in those many patients that are not responsive to current treatments. Our international clinical trials are progressing well through Phase I, and this significant grant is another key step in progressing these new therapies to reach patients in this high unmet medical need.”
TILT-123, also known as Igrelimogene litadenorepvec, is a chimeric serotype adenovirus armed with two human cytokines that boost the patient’s systemic immune response to better enable it to find and destroy cancer cells. It treats cancer by working synergistically with immune checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors and can be delivered intravenously or intratumorally. The company is advancing its pipeline of programs across several cancer indications as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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