Screen Therapeutics LLC has formed a partnership with Immunaccel to focus on the discovery and development of next generation cancer immunotherapies.Screen Therapeutics will combine its immunology expertise, capabilities and know-how together with Immunaccel's IP, know-how and proprietary cell lines to discover next generation cancer therapies targeting stromal interactions in the tumor microenvironment. This transaction is also part of a broader strategy for Immunaccel to leverage its intellectual property (IP) and know-how in developing human relevant translational platforms.

Underlying the company's programs is a combination of proprietary ex vivo 3D platforms and well characterized human cell lines that enable the simulation of the tumor microenvironment. Screen Therapeutics will leverage these platforms to study the tumor stromal barriers that affect T cell activity and migration of immune cells in tumors.

"With approximately 30-40% of patients not responding to current immunotherapies, it is important to study the stromal factors that contribute to this phenomenon. Together with advanced imaging and complimentary technology platforms, we aim to simulate the various tumor immune microenvironments ex vivo, which will allow us to dissect the cross talk between immune cells, stromal cells and tumors with the goal of identifying novel targets and biomarkers," said Tonya Webb PhD, scientific co-founder on Screen Therapeutics. 

"Since our inception, our mission has been to research, develop and advance synergistic translational research platforms to accelerate preclinical development timelines and advance innovative drug candidates into clinical trials," said Vik Subbu, Managing Partner of Equidis Ventures and CEO of Immunaccel. "The applications of ex vivo 3D platforms in cancer drug discovery have tremendous potential in providing human physiological relevance in identifying novel drug targets and biomarkers," he added.