AbbVie (ABBV.US) collaborates with Xilio to develop a novel tumor-activated immunotherapy.

AbbVie (ABBV.US) and Xilio Therapeutics today announced a collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop novel antibody-based immunotherapies that activate T cells in tumors, including masked T cell receptors. Xilio is advancing a pipeline of fully-owned, novel masked T cell receptor molecules with conditional half-life regulation, designed to maximize local T cell activation and tumor cell destruction while minimizing systemic adverse events and improving therapeutic index, through its proprietary and clinically validated tumor-activating platform. The projects include bispecific molecules utilizing Xilio's advanced tumor-activating cell receptor (ATACR) design, composed of masked CD3 targeting domains; and tri-specific molecules utilizing Xilio's selective effect-enhancing cell receptor (SEECR) design, which builds on the ATACR with co-stimulatory signals to further enhance potency and T cell activation. Xilio is advancing three fully-owned preclinical programs with masked T cell receptor molecules targeting the following tumor-associated antigens: PSMA, CLDN18.2 and STEAP1.