Deka Biosciences
Made-to-Measure Cytokine Therapy

Recent developments in cancer therapy revolve around combining precision medicine and stimulating the immune system, with cytokines as one of the most promising candidate molecules. This class of proteins is known to play a vital role in immune responses, with molecules like interleukin-2 (IL-2) being the first effective immunotherapy for cancer in humans, due to its ability to stimulate and maintain anti-cancer T cells in patients for prolonged periods of time.

Yet, there lies a challenge in using cytokines as a form of cancer treatment, as these molecules are selected by nature to function at high concentrations for short durations and are often accompanied by adverse effects. IL-2, for example, often triggers cytokine release syndrome (CRS) when deployed in immunotherapy that in turn causes edema due to vascular/ capillary leak syndrome, and may even cause organ failure.

For John Mumm, president and CEO of Deka Biosciences, the goal was to deploy IL-2 to the tumor microenvironment while simultaneously inhibiting its toxic side effects. Drawing on his three decades of knowledge in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, Mumm and his team coupled IL-2 with IL-10, a natural blocker of CRS, via an antibody fragment scaffolding that targets the tumor microenvironment, to create Deka’s novel Diakine^TM system.

“Our next-generation cytokine therapy uses the Diakine^TM platform to build a tailor-made solution for every patient, based on the capacity of each patient’s immune system to respond,” says Mumm.

This game-changing platform is customizable with interleukin variants like interferon alpha, IL-2, IL-7, IL-12, IL-15 and others, in combination with IL-10, to accommodate each patient’s responsiveness to specific cytokine pairs.

Matching the correct treatment for each patient is the next crucial leap in clinical development.

Deka has reduced the complexities of anti-cancer immunity to an in-vitro assay that assesses the induced secretion of IFN-gamma by CD8+ T cells after exposure to each Diakine^TM. This test permits the evaluation of each patient’s immune response to the different types of Diakines^TM.

Deka then sequenced the genome of each donor and found genetic sequences that likely correlate with high and low responses to each Diakine^TM. Deka will one day utilize these genetic sequences to develop a PCR-based companion diagnostic assay to use the genetic markers associated with non-responders to enable treatment of each patient with a Diakine^TM that is more likely to provide therapeutic benefit. Deka is evaluating each patient’s immune response prior to dosing with DK2¹⁰ (EGFR) in preparation to select patients in future trials, which they believe will reduce clinical development time and cost.

Our next-generation cytokine therapy uses the Diakine^TM platform to build a solution for every patient

The type of cancer also determines how Deka proceeds with treatment. Each Diakine^TM molecule is designed to accumulate in the tumor microenvironment by targeting specific molecules on the surface of the tumor cells. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was one of the first targets Deka worked with, as many tumor cells across multiple tumor types express it.

Moving into clinical trials in partnership with Next Oncology (Fairfax, VA), Deka Biosciences’ innovative take on immunotherapy and its novel molecule are already turning heads in the scientific community, as this bespoke therapy for cancer is a promising new step toward the future of immunotherapy. Deka Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on generating next-generation targeted cytokine therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. It has developed a novel technology, termed Diakine^TM that can be used to custom formulate therapies for a wide variety of cancer patients. Deka is funded by MPM BioImpact, Leaps by Bayer, Lumira Ventures, O-Bio (ECHO Investment Capital), Viva BioInnovator, Alexandria Venture Investments, Amana Investments, Plains Ventures, ATEM Capital, and John Mumm.