Press release: Xsphera Biosciences and NEX-I Collaborate to Advance Oncology Drug Research

Boston, MA – Xsphera Biosciences, a leading biotechnology company specializing in ex vivo testing of oncology therapeutics on patient-excised tumor tissue, is pleased to announce the formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NEX-I, a Seoul-based pioneer in immune-oncology therapeutics. This partnership represents a significant step forward in oncology drug research and development.

At the heart of this partnership lies Xsphera's innovative technology, exclusively licensed from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Xsphera’s technology maintains each patient’s tumor microenvironment in an ex vivo platform directly from a fresh excisional tumor biopsy. Over the past year, Xsphera has played a pivotal role in advancing NEX-I’s pipeline by assessing the performance of NEX-I mono and combination therapies on patient tumor samples. Additionally, the companies have leveraged Xsphera’s cloud analytics platform to jointly explore molecular pathways modulated by the multiple therapeutic treatments, aiming to comprehend the mechanisms of action and resistance for each treatment across a diverse set of patient samples.

NEX-I is advancing the development of 'NXI-101', a notable first-in-class antibody drug targeting 'ONCOKINE-1', a factor produced by cancer cells that contributes to the resistance of cancer cells to cancer immunotherapy. With treatments like NXI-101 designed to counter these resistance factors, NEXI aims to bolster the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, NEX-I is diligently working to expedite its entry into global clinical markets.

Stephen Remondi, CEO of Xsphera Biosciences, remarked, "This MOU underscores our shared commitment to deepen our collaboration. We are excited to further our understanding of immune modulation in response to NEX-I therapeutics as well as to discover new therapeutic targets in oncology that is enabled by comparing the modulated responses of different therapeutics on tumor tissue from the same patient. " Importantly, this partnership is set to deliver tangible benefits to cancer patients by tailoring treatments to their unique biological responses, thereby improving treatment outcomes and personalizing the battle against cancer."

CEO, Kyoung Wan Yoon, stated, “NXI-101 is on the verge of entering clinical trials next year. On top of our animal data, validating the efficacy and mechanism of NXI-101 through our collaborative research with Xsphera increases our likelihood of clinical success, and will deliver real-world value to patients. Furthermore, through this research collaboration, we aim to verify the possibility of developing companion diagnostic biomarkers for the NXI-101 treatment and accelerate the pace of technological and business growth globally."

About Xsphera Biosciences:
Xsphera Biosciences is a biotechnology company dedicated to bridging the translational gap between animal models and human clinical trials for oncology therapeutics. Through collaboration with DanaFarber, Xsphera has developed a revolutionary fresh human tumor tissue-based platform that enables the assessment of therapeutic efficacy across various cancer indications and drug modalities. Integrating this ex vivo biology capability with its AI-powered cloud analytics platform, Xsphera can reveal the underlying mechanisms of action and resistance in the tumor microenvironment, providing invaluable insights into human biology and clinical trial strategy.
For more information, please visit the Xsphera website at https://www.xspherabio.com/.

About NEX-I:
NEX-I is breaking ground in the fight against cancer with its next-generation therapies targeting immunotherapy-resistant cancers. Leveraging its proprietary platform, NEX-I has developed robust models for immunotherapy-refractory cancers to analyze their characteristics and identify novel therapeutic targets comprehensively. This unique and dedicated research has led to the discovery of a series of soluble targets, ONCOKINE, which highly expresses and plays a critical role in refractory cellular mechanisms through the proprietary screening platform. NEX-I proposes a new standardized solution to inhibit cancer cell growth and metastasis by suppressing them.
Learn more at http://nex-i.co.kr/.

A copy of the White Paper describing NXI-101 and the results from the Xsphera Platform can be found at https://www.xspherabio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Whitepaper-Translational-Research-of-NXI-101_SEP2023_1_Xsphera.pdf.

For further information, please contact:

Xsphera Biosciences Inc.
Kazuhito Ishikawa
Vice President, Sales and Business development
kazu@xspherabio.com