Agenus Inc. announced that data from an investigator sponsored trial evaluating botensilimab (BOT, multifunctional CTLA-4 immune activator) in combination with balstilimab (BAL, PD-1 antibody) in neoadjuvant colorectal cancer (CRC) will be presented at the upcoming ASCO-GI Meeting, to be held January 18 ? 20, 2024 in San Francisco, CA. The IST is led by Pashtoon Kasi, M.D., who was recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an associate professor of medicine and is a member of its Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center.

Dr. Kasi is also an oncologist at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Botensilimab is an investigational multifunctional anti-CTLA-4 immune activator (antibody) designed to boost both innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. Its novel design leverages mechanisms of action to extend immunotherapy benefits to "cold" tumors which generally respond poorly to standard of care or are refractory to conventional PD-1/CTLA-4 therapies and investigational therapies.

Botensilimab augments immune responses across a wide range of tumor types by priming and activating T cells, downregulating intratumoral regulatory T cells, activating myeloid cells and inducing long-term memory responses. Approximately 750 patients have been treated with botensilimab in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. Botensilimab alone, or in combination with Agenus?

investigational PD-1 antibody, balstilimab, has shown clinical responses across nine metastatic, late-line cancers.