ZielBio to Present New Data Demonstrating Preclinical Efficacy of ZB131 in Cholangiocarcinoma at AACR Annual Meeting 2022

 ZB131 is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody targeted to cancer specific plectin

New, preclinical research to be presented at AACR Annual Meeting 2022 shows ZB131 efficacy as a monotreatment for cholangiocarcinoma

Results also indicate dual treatment of ZB131 with standard-of-care chemotherapy gemcitabine enhances suppression of tumor growth above chemotherapy alone in cholangiocarcinoma

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ZielBio, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering new treatments for cancer and other serious diseases through its innovative ZielFind drug discovery platform, will present new, preclinical data on the efficacy of its ZB131 drug in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) models at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022. The conference will take place April 8-13, 2022 in New Orleans and virtually. Dr. Lindsey Brinton, Head of Discovery at ZielBio, will present the data in a talk on Tuesday, April 12 at 3:05 in La Nouvelle Orleans C.

The new preclinical research suggests that ZB131 is effective as a monotherapy in the treatment of CCA, a form of cancer which develops in the bile ducts. When used as a combination therapy with the standard-of-care chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine, ZB131 enhanced the chemotherapy's anti-tumor effects.

CCA is a cancer with a high unmet need and a survival rate of <20% five years post-diagnosis. Most non-palliative patients relapse within two years and treatments in the advanced setting are limited. CCA tumors are characterized by high expression (>85%) of cancer specific plectin (CSP).

CSP is a pro-tumorigenic protein exclusively expressed on the surface of cancer cells. The common presence of CSP on the surface of CCA cells suggests that anti-CSP therapy may be effective in treating this form of cancer. ZB131 is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody with a high affinity to and specificity for CSP.

In this study, ZB131 was administered as a monotherapy to mice inoculated with human CCA cells (CCA-xenografted mice). ZB131 significantly suppressed tumor growth in the majority of mice, and caused complete regression in 17% of mice. In another group of CCA-xenografted mice, ZB131 was administered in combination with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine (100 mg/kg). In this group, ZB131 showed an increased tumor response (91% suppression) when compared to gemcitabine alone (74% suppression). 

"These findings further confirm that ZB131, currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, presents an exciting possibility for the treatment of CCA and other CSP-positive cancers," said Dr. Kimberly Kelly, CEO of ZielBio. "ZB131 has shown strong antitumor activity in vitro and in mouse models. Additionally, it has demonstrated an excellent safety profile with no toxicities identified in GLP-enabling toxicology studies in non-human primates. We are eager to present these data with the AACR community and to see what new data arises from our current Phase 1 clinical trial of ZB131."

About ZielBio
ZielBio is a clinical stage biotechnology company that identifies novel disease targets and develops therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes. Its proprietary drug discovery platform, ZielFind, combines the power of functional, high throughput screening with large content data analytics to identify high value targets. ZielBio has a promising pipeline of targets and therapies, including lead asset ZB131, a proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody against cancer specific plectin, a target identified through ZielFind.

SOURCE ZielBio, Inc.