Omega Therapeutics Presents New Preclinical Data Demonstrating the Potential of Omega Epigenomic Controllers™ to Synergize with Immunotherapies at the ASCO 2023 Annual Meeting
May 31 2023 - 6:00AM
Omega Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMGA) (“Omega”), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of
programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines, today announced that it
will present new preclinical data demonstrating the effect of
MYC-targeting Omega Epigenomic Controllers™ (OECs) on the tumor
microenvironment (TME) and immunotherapy responses in
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) models in a poster presentation at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago,
Illinois, June 2 – 6, 2023.
“As a master oncogene, MYC plays multiple roles in promoting
tumor growth, including regulating the tumor microenvironment, yet
a direct MYC-targeting anti-cancer agent has remained elusive,”
said Thomas McCauley, Ph.D., Omega's Chief Scientific Officer. “The
enhanced anti-tumor activity demonstrated in these preclinical data
strongly support further investigation of MYC-targeting OECs in
combination with clinically-validated approaches such as checkpoint
blockade immunotherapies. We are excited by these results, which
further validate our clinical trial strategy to evaluate our lead
clinical candidate OTX-2002 in combination with anti-PD-1/PD-L1
agents in our landmark Phase 1/2 MYCHELANGELO™ I trial, as well as
our rationale to pursue OTX-2101, our second OEC development
candidate, for the treatment of NSCLC. We continue to advance
OTX-2101 through IND-enabling studies and look forward to
announcing preliminary OTX-2002 monotherapy data from our Phase 1
clinical trial this year while progressing toward initiation of the
combination portion of the study.”
Details for the poster presentation:
Title: Effect of MYC-targeting Programmable
Epigenomic mRNA Therapeutics on TME and Immunotherapy
ResponsesAbstract #: 4116Poster
#: 437Session Information:
Gastrointestinal Cancers – Gastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and
HepatobiliaryDate and Time: June 5, 2023, from
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. CDT
Key findings:
- Consistent with our previous
preclinical studies, MYC OECs resulted in the downregulation of MYC
mRNA and protein expression, as well as decreased cell viability in
Hepa1-6 mouse liver cancer cells.
- MYC OECs downregulated expression of
PD-L1 protein on the surface of HCC and NSCLC tumor cells in
vitro.
- The combination of MYC OEC and
anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 blockade significantly reduced tumor growth
in a mouse xenograft liver tumor model compared to single agent
treatment.
- As a single agent or in combination
with checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (CBI), MYC OECs reduced the
levels of immune-suppressive regulatory T cells and increased
levels of activated CD8 T cells in the TME of mouse xenograft liver
tumors, potentially enhancing the adaptive antitumor immune
response.
- In immune-competent mouse allograft
tumor models MYC OEC alone or in combination with CBI conferred
anti-tumor immune memory.
The poster will be made available on the Omega website at the
time of the presentation at
https://omegatherapeutics.com/our-science/#publications-research.
About Omega Therapeutics
Omega Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company
pioneering the development of a new class of programmable
epigenomic mRNA medicines to treat or cure a broad range of
diseases. By pre-transcriptionally modulating gene expression,
Omega’s approach enables precision epigenomic control of nearly all
human genes, including historically undruggable and
difficult-to-treat targets, without altering native nucleic acid
sequences. Founded in 2017 by Flagship Pioneering following
breakthrough research by world-renowned experts in the field of
epigenetics, Omega is led by a seasoned and accomplished leadership
team with a track record of innovation and operational excellence.
The Company is committed to revolutionizing genomic medicine and
has a diverse pipeline of therapeutic candidates derived from its
OMEGA platform spanning oncology, regenerative medicine, multigenic
diseases including immunology, and select monogenic diseases.
For more information, visit omegatherapeutics.com, or follow us
on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not
relate to matters of historical fact should be considered
forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements
regarding the timing, progress and design of our Phase 1/2
MYCHELANGELO™ I clinical trial and our preclinical studies, as
well as the timing of announcements of data related thereto;
expectations surrounding the potential of our product candidates,
including OTX-2002 and OTX-2101; and upcoming events and
presentations. These statements are neither promises nor
guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other important factors that may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the
following: the novel technology on which our product candidates are
based makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of
preclinical and clinical development and subsequently obtaining
regulatory approval, if at all; the substantial development and
regulatory risks associated with epigenomic controllers due to the
novel and unprecedented nature of this new category of medicines;
our limited operating history; the incurrence of significant losses
and the fact that we expect to continue to incur significant
additional losses for the foreseeable future; our need for
substantial additional financing; our investments in research and
development efforts that further enhance the OMEGA platform, and
their impact on our results; uncertainty regarding preclinical
development, especially for a new class of medicines such as
epigenomic controllers; potential delays in and unforeseen costs
arising from our clinical trials; the fact that our product
candidates may be associated with serious adverse events,
undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt
their regulatory development, prevent their regulatory approval,
limit their commercial potential, or result in significant negative
consequences; the impact of increased demand for the manufacture of
mRNA and LNP based vaccines to treat COVID-19 on our development
plans; difficulties manufacturing the novel technology on which our
OEC candidates are based; our ability to adapt to rapid and
significant technological change; our reliance on third parties for
the manufacture of materials; our ability to successfully acquire
and establish our own manufacturing facilities and infrastructure;
our reliance on a limited number of suppliers for lipid excipients
used in our product candidates; our ability to advance our product
candidates to clinical development; and our ability to obtain,
maintain, enforce and adequately protect our intellectual property
rights. These and other important factors discussed under the
caption "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2023, and our other filings with the SEC,
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press
release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's
estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect
to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent
events cause our views to change.
CONTACT
Investor contact:
Eva Stroynowski
617.949.4370
estroynowski@omegatx.com
Media contact:
Jason Braco, LifeSci Communications
646.751.4361
jbraco@lifescicomms.com
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