BRIEF—Kleo Pharma and PeptiDream select myeloma candidate

US immuno-oncology company Kleo Pharmaceutical announced today that CD38-ARM, a CD38 targeting antibody recruiting molecule (ARM™) to treat multiple myeloma, will be its first product candidate to move into the clinic with anticipated human studies to commence in 2020, under its collaboration with Japan’s PeptiDream.

CD38-ARM is designed to recruit endogenous antibodies to multiple myeloma cancer cells, targeting them for destruction by natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages.

CD38 is a validated multiple myeloma target, which is also over-expressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other cancers.

The molecule was chosen after showing positive signals towards safety and efficacy in preclinical models. This is the first candidate to emerge from Kleo's strategic alliance with PeptiDream Inc.

"We're excited to announce CD38-ARM as the first clinical candidate for Kleo, which is also the first clinical candidate resulting from our collaboration agreement with PeptiDream," said

Dr Douglas Manion, chief executive of Kleo, noted: "PeptiDream's PDPS technology and Kleo's ARM platform together have created a product candidate we intend to advance into the clinic next year. CD38-ARM is being developed to enhance, complement or replace currently marketed anti-CD38 multiple myeloma drugs through better safety and efficacy. We are hopeful CD38-ARM will be the first of a series of novel clinical candidates to emerge from our innovative development platforms."