Research we fund

In July 2012, LLS began its partnership with Constellation to support three first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trials for blood cancer patients and is currently supporting "A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-blind, Active-Control Study of CPI-0610 and Ruxolitinib vs. Placebo and Ruxolitinib in JAKi Treatment Naive MF Patients." Constellation Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that selectively modulate gene expression to address serious unmet medical needs in patients with cancer. MorphoSys acquired Constellation in July 2021 and continues to enroll patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms in multiple clinical studies. Pelabresib (CPI-0610) is a small molecule inhibitor of bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins. Pelabresib in combination with ruxolitinib is in a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT04603495) for myelofibrosis patients that have not been previously treated with Janus kinase inhibitors.

Project Term: July 31, 2012 - TBD

In February 2021, LLS made an equity investment in Carisma Therapeutics to "Support CAR Macrophage Development for Blood Cancers." Carisma is a biopharmaceutical company developing a differentiated and proprietary cell therapy platform focused on engineered macrophages. Carisma is looking at an innovative way to harness yet another part of the human immune system. Carisma is a spin out company from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), founded by Saar Gill, M.D., Ph.D. and Michael Klichinsky, PharmD, Ph.D., SVP of Research. Early work at Penn was supported in part by LLS grants. Based on preclinical studies, the company’s highly differentiated CAR-macrophage (CAR-M) platform may have the potential to overcome challenges encountered by other cell therapies such as trafficking limitations to the tumor site, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments and the heterogeneous expression of tumor-associated antigens. Carisma is working closely with LLS TAP to develop one or more CAR-M therapies for blood cancers.

Project Term: February 22, 2021 - TBD

In August 2021, LLS made an equity investment in Immunitas Therapeutics to support the "Phase 1 Clinical Development of IMT-009, an Antibody Targeting CD161, in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors or Lymphomas."Immunitas is committed to discovering and developing novel, differentiated therapeutics for patients with cancer. Their discovery engine combines deep expertise in single-cell genomics with customized machine learning approaches to elucidate immune cell populations that are key actors in immuno-oncology. Immunitas complements this process with bespoke in-house therapeutic discovery rooted in antibody display and immunization. The company was founded by Longwood Fund with leading scientists from Dana-Farber, MGH, the Broad, and MIT.IMT-009, a first-in-class NK and T cell modulator targeting CD161, is being developed for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphomas and is in a Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT05565417). 

Project Term: August 10, 2021 - TBD

In August 2013, LLS began its first European partnership with Affimed that supported two clinical trials for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients. Expanding upon the initial work supported by LLS TAP, Affimed is currently enrolling "Bispecific NK Engager AFM13 Combined With NK Cells for Patients With Recurrent of Refractory CD30 Positive Hodgkin or Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas." Affimed is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to fight cancer by actualizing the untapped potential of the innate immune system using the proprietary ROCK® platform to enable a tumor-targeted approach to recognize and kill a range of hematologic and solid tumors. AFM13 is bispecific tetravalent engager targeting CD30 on tumor cells and CD16A on NK cells and macrophages. AFM13 in combination with modified natural killer cells is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial in relapsed or refractory CD30-positive lymphoma (NCT04074746).

Project Term: August 26, 2013 - June 30, 2020

In August 2014, LLS made an equity investment in OncoPep which is currently supporting "A Phase 1b Study of PVX-410, a Multi-Peptide Cancer Vaccine, and Citarinostat (CC-96241), a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor (HDAC) With and Without Lenalidomide for Patients With Smoldering Multiple Myeloma." OncoPep is developing targeted immunotherapeutics to prevent the progression of cancer, prolong survival and restore the quality of life of patients.  PVX-410 is a multi-peptide therapeutic vaccine being evaluated in smoldering multiple myeloma and triple negative breast cancer. PVX-410 is currently being tested in combination with citarinostat (small molecule inhibitor of HDAC) and lenalidomide in patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (NCT02886065).

Project Term: August 18, 2014 - TBD

In November 2020, LLS made an equity investment in Abintus Bio to "Support in vivo CAR Development for Blood Cancers." Abintus Bio is developing cutting-edge in vivo CAR therapies that allow for powerful CAR T cells to be generated directly in a patient’s body, eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly collection, engineering and re-infusion of patient T cells. Abintus plans to develop a portfolio of first-in-class product candidates that reprogram immune cells in vivo to eliminate tumors utilizing proprietary vectors and vector-engineering technologies. This technology is currently in preclinical testing and could, if successful, support immediate patient dosing, a substantial benefit for patients facing advanced forms of cancer with a poor prognosis. Abintus’ platform is versatile and scalable, so they have the potential to meet the needs of a much larger patient population.

Project Term: November 3, 2020 - TBD

In February 2021, LLS made an equity investment in Caribou Biosciences to support "A Phase 1, Multicenter, Open-Label Study of CB-010, a CRISPR-Edited Allogeneic Anti-CD19 CAR-T Cell Therapy in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma."Caribou is a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company, co-founded by CRISPR pioneer and Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., using next-generation CRISPR genome-editing technology to develop “off-the-shelf” (allogeneic) CAR therapies for hard-to-treat blood cancers.CB-010, Caribou’s lead allogeneic CAR-T cell program, targets CD19 and is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial expansion cohort for second-line patients with large B cell lymphoma (LBCL). (NCT04637763). It is the first clinical-stage allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in which PD-1 was genetically disrupted in the CAR-T genome, leading to more durable anti-tumor activity in pre-clinical studies.

Project Term: February 28, 2021 - TBD

In July 2019, LLS expanded its partnership with Forty Seven by making an equity investment to support "ENHANCE: A Randomized, Double-blind, Multicenter Study Comparing Magrolimab in Combination With Azacitidine Versus Azacitidine Plus Placebo in Treatment-naïve Patients With Higher Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome." LLS funded Stanford University researchers and founders of Forty Seven, Irv Weissman, MD, and Ravi Majeti, MD, PhD, to study seminal work in macrophages. Forty Seven was a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company that was developing therapies targeting cancer immune evasion pathways and specific cell targeting approaches based on technology licensed from Stanford University. Gilead Sciences acquired Forty Seven in March 2020 and continues to develop magrolimab in multiple clinical studies in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and solid tumors. Magrolimab is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody against the CD47 receptor. Magrolimab is being investigated in multiple Phase 3 clinical studies. One Phase 3 study supported in part by LLS TAP involves magrolimab in combination with azacitidine for the treatment-naive patients with higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome (NCT04313881).

Project Term: July 17, 2019 - April 7, 2020

The Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) Meyer Cancer Center (MCC) has an internationally recognized, clinical/translational blood cancer research program focused at its Manhattan campus. Elsewhere in New York City, the borough of Queens has 2.3 million and the borough of Brooklyn has 2.5 million residents. Both are among the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the world, and each separately ranks just behind Los Angeles and Chicago in population. Over 50% of patients diagnosed with blood cancers in New York City live in Brooklyn or Queens, and half of those are non-white. Involvement of academic cancer centers with a hematologic malignancy clinical trials program physically located in Brooklyn or Queens has previously been limited. New York Presbyterian Hospital and WCM have now integrated with New York Presbyterian-Queens (NYP-Q) and New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital (NYP-BMH) to provide access to outstanding cancer care and research for these populations. The community outreach and engagement core of the MCC (led by Dr. Erica Phillips) partners with a robust network of affiliated ambulatory care practices in Brooklyn and Queens. The core has hosted roundtables with over 120 stakeholders (cancer advocacy groups, community physicians, social service organizations) around barriers to diagnosis and treatment in solid tumors, and we will capitalize on this program to expand to blood cancer trials. Other workshops will be targeted directly to diverse groups of patients. Additionally, WCM-MCC cross-campus Hematologic Malignancy Disease Management teams are led locally by Dr. Perry Cook (NYP-BMH) and Dr. Gina Villani (NYP-Q). Clinical trials infrastructure and staffing, a joint IRB, training and oversight are being implemented. This foundation is ideal to synergize with this proposal (BRIDGE) to accelerate access and support for clinical trial participation of blood cancer patients in Brooklyn and Queens who have been previously underserved.

Project Term: April 1, 2021 - March 31, 2026

In August 2018, LLS partnered with Sutro Biopharma to support "A Phase 1 Open-Label, Safety, Pharmacokinetic and Preliminary Efficacy Study of STRO-001, an Anti-CD74 Antibody Drug Conjugate, in Patients With Advanced B-Cell Malignancies." Sutro Biopharma is a clinical-stage drug discovery, development and manufacturing company that uses precise protein engineering and rational design to advance next-generation oncology therapeutics. STRO-001 is a CD74-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) currently being investigated in a Phase 1 clinical trial of patients with advanced B-cell malignancies, including multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NCT03424603). STRO-001 is a new generation of ADC with more efficient homogeneous ADC design, which has the potential to minimize unwanted toxicity and improve clinical impact over prior technologies.

Project Term: August 10, 2018 - December 31, 2023

TP53 mutations are present in 10% of MDS cases and are associated with reduced survival and poor prognosis. However, the effect(s) of TP53 mutations on MDS pathogenesis is unknown. We discovered that MDS cells with TP53 mutations display significant alterations in pre-mRNA splicing due to increased EZH2 activity. We will investigate the mechanisms by which TP53 mutations drive MDS pathogenesis and determine the impact of inhibition of EZH2 and the spliceosome on MDS cells with TP53 mutations.

Project Term: July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2022

We are investigating new interventions that could improve the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy for lymphoma. A clinical trial will test radiation immediately followed by CAR-T. Larger lymphoma tumors are less likely to respond to CAR-T and we expect that radiation could reduce the amount of tumor, leading to improvement in responses. We will also conduct a series of trials to determine the effectiveness of vaccinations before and after CAR T cell therapy, and if anti-cancer vaccines could improve outcomes.

Project Term: January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2025