Cue Biopharma and ImmunoScape Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop Breakthrough Cell Therapy Approach for Solid Tumors

Core Insights - Cue Biopharma and ImmunoScape have entered a collaboration to develop a novel in vivo cell therapy for solid tumors, utilizing a Seed-and-Boost immunotherapy approach that combines Cue's CUE-100 series with ImmunoScape's proprietary TCRs [1][5][6] Collaboration Details - The collaboration includes an upfront payment of $15 million, with $10 million due in Q4 2025 and $5 million in November 2026, along with a 40% equity stake in ImmunoScape and potential high-single-digit royalty payments on net sales [7] Therapeutic Approach - The Seed-and-Boost approach involves administering a minimal starting dose of ImmunoScape's tumor-specific TCR-Ts (Seed) followed by Cue Biopharma's TCR matched IL-2 Immuno-STAT molecules (Boost), designed to enhance T cell activation while minimizing systemic immune activation [2][6] - This method aims to simplify manufacturing and improve clinical efficacy, tolerability, and quality of life for patients [2][6] Clinical Data and Potential - The CUE-100 series has shown clinical activity in several metastatic cancers with reduced toxicities compared to traditional IL-2 therapies, indicating a promising future for this novel immunotherapy [3][8] - Preclinical data supports the potential of the Seed-and-Boost approach to provide durable anti-tumor effects in solid tumors, with IND-enabling studies expected for submission in 2027 [6][4] Company Background - Cue Biopharma focuses on developing therapeutic biologics to engage and modulate disease-specific T cells, while ImmunoScape specializes in next-generation TCR-based therapies in oncology [1][9][10]