MONROVIA, Calif., July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases and cancer, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in XmAb20717-01 (DUET-2), a Phase 1, first-in-human, clinical trial of XmAb®20717, a bispecific antibody that simultaneously targets PD-1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoints for the treatment of multiple advanced solid tumors.

"Built on the scaffold of Xencor's XmAb® bispecific Fc domain, XmAb20717 is the most advanced candidate in our suite of tumor microenvironment activators," said Paul Foster, M.D., chief medical officer at Xencor. "The dual blockade of PD-1 and CTLA-4 with XmAb20717 may promote superior T cell activation and proliferation compared to anti-PD-1 alone, and we look forward to studying its safety, tolerability and therapeutic activity in clinical trials."

By the end of 2018, Xencor expects to file Investigational New Drug applications for two additional tumor microenvironment activators including XmAb®23104, a PD-1 x ICOS bispecific antibody, as well as XmAb®22841, a CTLA-4 x LAG-3 dual checkpoint inhibitor.

DUET-2 is a Phase 1 multiple-dose, dose-escalation study that will characterize the safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity and preliminary anti-tumor activity of intravenous administration of XmAb20717 in patients with selected advanced solid tumors. For more information about DUET-2 please visit to https://clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT03517488). 

About Xencor's XmAb^® Bispecific Technology
As opposed to traditional monoclonal antibodies that target and bind to a single antigen, bispecific antibodies are designed to elicit biological effects that require simultaneous binding to two different antigen targets. Xencor's XmAb bispecific Fc domain technology is designed to maintain full-length antibody properties in a bispecific antibody, potentially enabling favorable in vivo half-life and simplified manufacturing.

About Xencor, Inc.
Xencor is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases and cancer. Currently, 11 candidates engineered with Xencor's XmAb® technology are in clinical development internally and with partners. Xencor's internal programs include: XmAb®5871 in Phase 2 development for the treatment of IgG4-Related Disease, and also for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; XmAb®7195 in Phase 1 development for the treatment of asthma and allergic diseases; XmAb®14045 in Phase 1 development for acute myeloid leukemia; XmAb®13676 in Phase 1 development for B-cell malignancies; XmAb®18087 in Phase 1 development for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and gastrointestinal stromal tumors; XmAb®20717 in Phase 1 development for the treatment of multiple cancers; and XmAb®22841, XmAb®23104 and XmAb®24306 in pre-clinical development for the treatment of multiple cancers. Xencor's XmAb antibody engineering technology enables small changes to the structure of monoclonal antibodies resulting in new mechanisms of therapeutic action. Xencor partners include Novartis, Amgen, MorphoSys, CSL, Alexion and Boehringer Ingelheim. For more information, please visit www.xencor.com.

Forward Looking Statements:
Statements contained in this press release and the related abstracts and presentations regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including any expectations relating to our business, research and development programs, partnering efforts or our capital requirements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements and the timing of events to be materially different from those implied by such statements, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such risks include, without limitation, the risks associated with the process of discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics and other risks described in Xencor's public securities filings. All forward-looking statements are based on Xencor's current information and belief as well as assumptions made by Xencor. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements and Xencor disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Xencor, Inc.

Investor, John Kuch, Vice President Finance, Xencor, Tel: 626-737-8013, jkuch@xencor.com, or Corporate Communications, Jason I. Spark, Canale Communications for Xencor, Tel: 619-849-6005, jason@canalecomm.com