Corvus Pharmaceuticals presents new ciforadenant data at JCA-AACR conference

Corvus Pharmaceuticals announced new preclinical data for ciforadenant, the Company’s adenosine 2A receptor inhibitor, highlighting its mechanism of action and synergy with immune checkpoint inhibitors via combination with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapies. The data is being presented in a poster at the 2nd Japanese Cancer Association and American Association for Cancer Research, JCA-AACR, Precision Cancer Medicine International Conference, which is taking place June 28-30, 2023 in Kyoto, Japan. Ciforadenant Data Presented at JCA-AACR Conference: The new ciforadenant preclinical data was presented by Dan Li, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Corvus, in a poster session at the JCA-AACR conference. The poster presentation highlights preclinical data supporting the synergy between ciforadenant and immune checkpoint blockade, leading to a proinflammatory response: Depletion of myeloid cells abolished the synergy of ciforadenant and ICB in a murine melanoma model. The combination of ciforadenant with ICB upregulated the genes involved in the IL-12/STAT4 signaling axis, which leads to the development of CXCR3+ IFNgamma-producing Th1 helper cells. Ciforadenant treatment increased production of chemokine CXCL10, a ligand for recruitment of CXCR3+ Th1 helper cells into the tumor. Ciforadenant modulated antitumor responses by turning the tumor microenvironment into the proinflammatory state. The combination of ciforadenant with ICB promoted the production of several proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNFa, and IFNg.