Lead development candidate, AMP-410, leverages proprietary Ampersand technology to block VEGF and allosterically activate 4-1BB signaling – unlike traditional bispecific molecules – driving both adaptive and innate anti-tumor activity
In multiple preclinical models of hard-to-treat cancers, AMP-410 showed strong efficacy when compared to four other clinical-stage immunotherapies, including an anti-VEGF/PD-1 bispecific antibody; IND-enabling studies to begin this year
AMP-410 was discovered and designed by Ampersand’s Address, Navigate, Determine (AND™) platform, highlighting its ability to create products that act only at the site of disease with maximal potency and improved tolerability
BOSTON, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ampersand Biomedicines, a multi-product platform company developing smarter medicines that act specifically at the site of disease and nowhere else, today announced preclinical data for one of its lead development candidates, AMP-410, a novel potential first-in-class bifunctional anti-VEGF/4-1BB AND-Body™ therapeutic. The data are being presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, April 25-30, 2025, in Chicago.
AMP‑410 was discovered and developed using the Ampersand platform to block VEGF, which then triggers allosteric activation of the 4‑1BB pathway selectively in tumors. This novel molecular mechanism is different from other bispecific molecules, and reprograms the tumor microenvironment with potent activation of both adaptive and innate immune responses and minimal systemic activity. AMP-410 was evaluated in multiple preclinical models of hard-to-treat cancers, including melanoma, colorectal, and lung cancer. Findings show that AMP-410 induced more durable anti-tumor immunity compared to four other classes of clinical immunotherapies. Notably, AMP-410 showed initial promising monotherapy efficacy compared to an anti-VEGF/PD-1 bispecific antibody in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) model, demonstrating its potential to treat tumors resistant to checkpoint inhibitors. AMP-410 monotherapy achieved 90% tumor-free survival in colorectal cancer and extended survival in melanoma models; when combined with anti-PD-1, it drove 100% tumor-free survival in colorectal cancer and further extended survival in melanoma. Additional mechanistic data demonstrate that the AND-Body’s unique bifunctional targeting and activity mechanisms not only enhanced immune cell infiltration of the tumor and prevented T cell exhaustion, but also led to durable anti-tumor immunity and improved tolerability.
“Our Address, Navigate, Determine (AND)™ platform combines computational target identification with modular antibody engineering to generate programmable therapeutics that precisely localize potent biological activities to disease sites,” said Jason Gardner, D.Phil., CEO and Director of Ampersand Biomedicines and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering. “We have evaluated AMP-410 against multiple clinical-stage assets using stringent criteria, and these data demonstrate that our approach can unleash powerful efficacy with enhanced tolerability, which is exactly our goal – to deliver unrivaled therapeutic indices for patients across multiple tumor types. We’re eager to advance AMP-410 into IND-enabling studies this year as a potential high-impact medicine, and to extend our precision platform to create best-in-class medicines in cancer and beyond.”
Poster presentation details:
Title: Anti-VEGF/4-1BB bifunctional AND-Body combines VEGF blockade and allosteric 4-1BB mechanism for sustained activation of adaptive and innate anti-tumor immunity
Poster Number: 4794/30
Session Date/Time: Tuesday, April 29, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT
About Ampersand Biomedicines
Ampersand Biomedicines enables a new way of programming medicines that work precisely where needed in the body and nowhere else. The company’s computationally powered Address, Navigate, Determine (AND)™ Platform identifies ideal addresses for drug localization and informs the design of AND-Body™ Therapeutics that have the optimal therapeutic effect. AND-Body therapeutics combine a localizing element that enables disease-specific precision with an actuator specifically chosen for disease modification. The localizer’s primary function is to anchor these medicines in the diseased tissue. The actuator is responsible for inducing the desired therapeutic effect. This approach enables improved target engagement while sparing on-target, off-tissue side effects. Ampersand Biomedicines was founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2021. For more information, please visit www.ampersand.bio and follow us on LinkedIn.
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