CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unum Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: UMRX ), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of cellular immunotherapies based on its novel, universal Antibody-Coupled T cell Receptor (ACTR) technology platform, today announced that the Company will be presenting pre-clinical data on the use of ACTR T cells in combination with daratumumab, a CD38-specific antibody, at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Summit on Emerging Immunotherapies for Hematological Diseases. The summit will take place in Washington DC, later today. 

CD38 is an antigen known to be expressed on tumor cells of multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and AML patients.  Unum has demonstrated in pre-clinical studies that the combination of ACTR T cells with daratumumab can drive potent activity against these tumor cells.  The Company is particularly interested in the potential benefit that ACTR in combination with daratumumab can provide in patients with AML. 

“We believe that using a CD38-specific antibody to direct ACTR attack has the potential to provide meaningful therapeutic benefit to CD38 expressing malignancies, including AML patients for whom treatment options continue to be very limited,” said Seth Ettenberg, Unum’s Chief Scientific Officer. “We look forward to bringing this novel approach into clinical testing in the future.”

CD38 is a difficult antigen to target using conventional T cell therapies, like CAR-T, because it is expressed on T cells. Expression on T cells drives “fratricide” during manufacturing, a process where activated T cells begin to attack and kill themselves. Since ACTR T cells require a targeting antibody to be activated and the targeting antibody is not present during manufacturing, ACTR T cells can be manufactured without triggering self-attack. As a result, ACTR has the potential to pursue T cell targets like CD38.

Presentation Title: Adaptability of Antibody-Coupled T Cell Receptor (ACTR) Engineered Autologous T Cells in Combination with Daratumumab Over CAR-based Approaches Presenter: Tooba Cheema, Principal Scientist, Unum Therapeutics Presentation Date: Thursday, July 12, 2018  Presentation Time: 4:05 PM  Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC

About Unum Therapeutics Unum Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel immunotherapy products designed to harness the power of a patient’s immune system to cure cancer. Unum’s novel proprietary technology, Antibody-Coupled T cell Receptor (ACTR), is a universal, engineered cell therapy intended to be used in combination with a wide range of tumor-specific antibodies to target different tumor types. ACTR087 used in combination with rituximab, an anti-CD20 antibody, is Unum’s most advanced product candidate, currently in Phase I clinical testing in adult patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r NHL). The Company has two additional product candidates in Phase I clinical testing: ACTR087 used in combination with the novel antibody SEA-BCMA in adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and ACTR707, a modified ACTR construct, used in combination with rituximab in adult patients with r/r NHL. In addition, Unum expects to file an investigational new drug application (IND) in 2018 for ACTR707 used in combination with trastuzumab, an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody, to treat patients with HER2+ cancers.

The Company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Forward looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release about our future expectations, plans and prospects, including projections regarding future revenues and financing performance, our long-term growth, the anticipated timing of our clinical trials and regulatory filings, the development of our product candidates, including the four lead ACTR product candidates, as well as other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," or "would" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may not actually achieve the forecasts disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make as a result of a variety of risks and uncertainties, including risks related to the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues, capital requirements, and the need for additional financing, the success, cost and timing of our product development activities and clinical trials, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates, and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" sections of our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date hereof. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Investor Contact: Stern Investor Relations, Inc. Mary Conway, 212-362-1200 mary@sternir.com

Media Contact: Paul Kidwell, 617-680-1088 paul.kidwell@unumrx.com