Janux Therapeutics Announces First Patient Dosed with JANX008 in First-in-Human Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Patients with Solid Tumors

Janux Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a broad pipeline of novel immunotherapies by applying its proprietary technology to its Tumor Activated T Cell Engager (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulator (TRACIr) platforms, has announced the first patient has been dosed at City of Hope in a Phase 1 clinical trial of JANX008 in subjects with advanced or metastatic solid tumors including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. JANX008 is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) directed T cell engager (TCE) and is the second product candidate utilizing Janux’s TRACTr platform to be administered in humans.

“We are excited to initiate the clinical evaluation of our second product candidate from our TRACTr platform. JANX008 is designed to achieve tumor-selective T-cell activation and tumor killing while sparing healthy tissues,” said Wayne Godfrey, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Janux. “Our preclinical data with JANX008 demonstrated tumor growth inhibition and lower toxicity levels, when compared to an unmasked T cell engager.”

Marwan Fakih, M.D., Professor, Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, Judy and Bernard Briskin Distinguished Director in Clinical Research and the principal investigator from City of Hope, notes, “EGFR is a validated therapeutic target in several tumor types and highly expressed in many other tumor types, so the opportunity to target EGFR from the T-cell engager axis would be meaningful to address unmet medical needs in various disease types in oncology. We look forward to clinically exploring the safety and activity of JANX008.”

“JANX008 is the second therapeutic from our TRACTr platform to enter a first-in-human clinical trial, demonstrating the potential of our platform and the commitment of our team to address critical and urgent unmet needs for patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors,” said David Campbell, Ph.D., President and CEO of Janux. “We are grateful to our team and clinical investigators for their support in bringing another new therapeutic with a novel mechanism of action into the clinic.”