Medigene AG announced the selection of gastric cancer, ovarian cancer and two types of soft tissue sarcomas, myxoid/round cell liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma, as the initial clinical indications for its lead candidate MDG1015. MDG1015 is a first-in-class, third generation T cell receptor engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapy targeting NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1a (New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma1 /L Antigen Family Member-1a), armored and enhanced by costimulatory switch protein PD1-41BB in the context of HLA-A*02 (HLA, human leukocyte antigen). Preclinical data presented in 2023 at the AACR and ESMO conferences demonstrated the clear potential of MDG1015 to improve clinical outcomes in solid tumors.

The indications were selected predominantly based on target and/or PD-L1 expression, with 34-60%, 35-55% and 75-80% of gastric cancer, ovarian Cancer and the two subtypes of soft tissue sarcoma expressing NY-ESO-1 /LAGE-1a, respectively.