HCW Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCWB) is engaged as a biotechnology company, which is primarily focused on the research, discovery and testing of transformative immunotherapeutic properties that fight against inflammation. The company’s TOBI discovery platform is used to generate novel multi-functional fusion molecules with immunotherapeutic properties to treat inflammation.
Shares of the biotechnology company are surging 101% through early trading on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Over the past three months, HCW Biologics has seen average daily volume of 154,790 shares. However, volume of 111 million shares or dollar volume of $651.57 million, has already exchanged hands through early trading Thursday.
HCW Biologics is seeing shares rally after the company disclosed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided clearance to proceed with the first in-human clinical trial to test HCW9218, a leading drug candidate aimed at treating pancreatic cancer. The Phase 1b trial will feature an injectable version of the HCW9218 candidate, which will feature a fusion protein complex designed to drive bifunctional and anti-tumor activities. This is done by activating preferred immune responses in order to attack the cancer cells, while also blocking unwanted immunosuppressive properties.
Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, only behind lung and colon cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 60,430 new pancreatic cancer diagnoses and around 48,220 deaths from the disease in 2021 alone.
Hing C. Wong, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of HCW Biologics, stated, “The FDA’s clearance to proceed with our first-in-human trial for HCW9218 in pancreatic cancer is an important milestone for HCW Biologics and our efforts to advance the development of potentially groundbreaking immunotherapy candidates for cancer and other age-related diseases. Advances in immuno-stimulatory and anti-immunosuppressive therapeutics have revolutionized cancer treatment. We have created a bifunctional heterodimeric molecule, HCW9218, that can both stimulate the immune system and block the immunosuppressive activity of transforming growth factor-β. In preclinical studies, we showed that HCW9218 enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of chemotherapy docetaxel and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel against melanoma and pancreatic cancer, respectively, and simultaneously alleviated the off-target, unwanted effects of chemotherapies on normal tissues. In experimental animal models, HCW9218 was also shown to augment anti-tumor activities of therapeutic and checkpoint antibodies, which are currently standard-of-care anti-cancer treatment for certain solid tumors.”
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