• Clinical data show AgenT-797 can be dosed to 1 billion cells without lymphodepletion, with no evidence of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity
• Clinical trials underway in solid tumor cancers, multiple myeloma, and viral ARDS

NEW YORK, March 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MiNK Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery, development, and commercialization of allogeneic, off-the-shelf, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapies to treat cancer and other immune-mediated diseases, announced that it has begun dosing patients with solid tumor cancers with AgenT-797 alone and in combination with approved anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in a Phase 1 open-label clinical trial.

“This is the first study to evaluate the use of native, allogeneic iNKTs in combination with approved checkpoint inhibitors in patients with solid tumor cancers,” said Dr. Jennifer Buell, President and CEO of MiNK. “The favorable safety profile and encouraging signals of early clinical activity demonstrated to date, paired with our preclinical data showing tumor eradication when AgenT-797 is combined with standard of care checkpoint antibodies, underscore the potential of this therapy in solid tumor cancers.”

In the ongoing clinical trials, it has been demonstrated that AgenT-797 can be administered tolerably in up to 1 billion cells per dose without lymphodepletion, with no evidence of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity. Pre-clinical data has demonstrated the persistence, trafficking, and anti-cancer activity of AgenT-797, in both solid and liquid cancers.

This phase 1, open-label study is evaluating the safety, tolerability, and preliminary clinical activity of AgenT-797, an unmodified, allogeneic iNKT cell therapy, alone and in combination with approved immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors (NCT05108623).

About MiNK Therapeutics
MiNK Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery, development, and commercialization of allogeneic invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapies to treat cancer and other immune-mediated diseases. MiNK is advancing a pipeline of both native and next-generation engineered iNKT programs, with a platform designed to facilitate scalable and reproducible manufacturing for off-the-shelf delivery. The company is headquartered in New York, NY. For more information, please visit https://minktherapeutics.com/.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws.  Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the therapeutic and curative potential of AGENT-797 and iNKT cells, the mechanism of action, potency and safety of AGENT-797 and iNKT cells, in all instances including combination therapies with AGENT-797 and/or iNKT cells, for instance, combination therapies including anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors and/or other therapeutics; statements based on pre-clinical data, interim clinical trial data, or top-line clinical trial data; and any other statements containing the words "may," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "potential," "encouraging," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the factors described under the Risk Factors section of our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and a recent S-1 Registration Statement filed with the SEC.  These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and MiNK undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements.

Contact
Kimberly Ha
KKH Advisors
917-291-5744
kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com

Source: MiNK Therapeutics