HanchorBio Inc., a global biotechnology company dedicated to developing innovative immuno-biomedicines to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology and autoimmune diseases, today announced the successful completion of its 5th semi-annual Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) meeting recently held in Taipei, Taiwan. The meeting brought together globally renowned scientific and clinical experts to provide strategic guidance to HanchorBio’s current preclinical and clinical R&D efforts and future development plans for advancing novel multi-functional biologics to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Focusing on the latest scientific findings and industry trends in cancer therapeutic innovations, the SAB meeting provided valuable insights and recommendations to refine the company’s scientific and clinical strategies and advance its mission to deliver transformative therapies to human diseases with significant unmet needs.
Chaired by Professor Mingyi Chen (UT Southwestern Medical Center), the SAB is composed of distinguished members including Professor Zihai Li (Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University), Professor Weiping Zou (Michigan Center of Excellence for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Michigan), Professor Yang-Xin Fu (Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University), and Professor Pan-Chyr Yang (National Taiwan University College of Medicine). The SAB and HanchorBio’s leadership and R&D teams engaged in in-depth discussions on the company’s clinical programs, translational research, and AI-driven biomarker discovery strategy.
“It was a pleasure to participate in this productive SAB meeting and engage with the HanchorBio team on their scientific and clinical development plans,” said Professor Zihai Li, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Director of the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology at The Ohio State University. “The scientific discussions during this SAB meeting were thoughtful, data-driven, and forward-looking. HanchorBio’s strategic approach to harnessing both innate and adaptive immunity through innovative immunotherapies, including CD47-SIRPα blockade, single molecule multi-targeted platforms, is highly compelling. I’m particularly encouraged by the company’s clinical progress with HCB101, with its differentiated high safety profile and potential in broad applications via combination strategies. The team’s exploration of new indications in oncology and autoimmune diseases and commitment to integrating AI-powered biomarker strategies to optimize patient selection and therapeutic outcomes demonstrates a clear vision to advance next-generation treatments for patients facing difficult-to-treat diseases.”
Key topics discussed included:
•Clinical Advancement of HCB101: Review of clinical data from the ongoing Phase 1 trial of HCB101, a best-in-class, engineered SIRPα fusion protein targeting CD47, as monotherapy and in combination with other standard-of-care across solid tumors.
•Strategic Expansion into Autoimmune Diseases: Scientific rationale for extending HCB101 development into B cell– and myeloid cell-driven autoimmune diseases, leveraging its myeloid-modulating mechanism to deplete autoreactive immune cells.
•Evaluation of New Oncology Indications: The SAB provided feedback on HanchorBio’s strategy to expand the development of HCB101 into an orphan drug designated for treating rare tumors with high unmet medical needs.
•Pipeline of Multi-Specific Immunotherapies: Presentation of HanchorBio’s proprietary multi-specific platforms, including HCB302 and bispecific molecules designed to overcome tumor immune resistance.
•AI-Driven Biomarker Platform: Introduction of HanchorBio’s innovative AI-based efficacy prediction platform, which utilizes patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and transcriptomic analysis to develop gene expression signatures predictive of treatment response. The SAB provided valuable input on enhancing biological relevance, gene signature selection, and clinical validation strategies.
“We are grateful for the SAB’s expert insights and candid feedback, which will help us refine our scientific strategy and accelerate the development of our differentiated pipeline,” said Scott Liu, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of HanchorBio. “The SAB’s endorsement of our immuno-oncology programs, autoimmune disease exploration, and AI-driven biomarker efforts reinforces our commitment to delivering transformative therapies to patients worldwide. Importantly, our recent clinical progress, including the advancement of multiple combo-based Phase 1b/2a trials in triple-negative breast cancer and gastric cancer and the approval of investigator-initiated trials by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration in advanced colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer, reflects the strong momentum of our rich clinical pipeline.”
HanchorBio plans to incorporate the SAB’s recommendations into its ongoing and future programs and looks forward to providing further updates on clinical progress, pipeline expansion, and AI-powered biomarker-driven precision medicine initiatives.