The immune surveillance concept asserts that a healthy individual’s immune system not only neutralizes foreign agents but also eliminates emerging tumor cells before they cause overt disease.

One of the methods in which cancer proliferates is through the supression of the patient’s immune system via immune checkpoint modulators (ICMs).

Anti-ICM antibodies blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction between T Cells and cancer cells have demonstrated great success against multiple types of cancer in clinical trials.

However, anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 antibodies do not cover the entire breadth of cancer types. Fully successful treatment will likely require multiple anti-ICM antibodies which offer a robust immune checkpoint blockade, in combination with other methods.

Trellis antibodies, Anti-KIR and Anti-TIM3 mAbs target novel receptors implicated in the immune checkpoint interaction and aid stimulation of the natural immune system, thereby improving the body’s natural ability to fight cancer.

Other Trellis antibodies target TAAs, like TRL10001 that recognizes the extracellular domain of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK).

ALK plays a role during the development of the nervous system and is associated to many cancers including lung, thyroid and many brain tumors, while is not present in normal tissues.

TRL10001 is high affinity (100pM) human antibody that rapidly internalizes in neuroblastoma cells, which makes it an ideal candidate for an Antibody Drug Conjugate.

Antibodies, including our Anti-ALK candidate, which target tumor-associated antigens, may function as antibody conjugates and therefore be coupled with small molecule drug treatments. Due to the antibody specificity, the coupled conjugates can deliver concentrated doses of the drug directly to the tumor cell, minimizing side effects by sparing healthy tissue.