Mass General Brigham, Inc.

TUESDAY, Feb. 25, 2025 -- The association of long-term yogurt intake with colorectal cancer incidence seems to differ by the abundance of tumor tissue Bifidobacterium , according to a study published online Feb. 12 in Gut Microbes . Satoko Ugai, Ph.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues utilized the prospective cohort incident-tumor biobank method and resources of two prospective cohort studies to examine whether long-term yogurt intake is associated with colorectal cancer incidence differentially by tumor subgroups according to the amount of tissue Bifidobacterium . The researchers documented 3,079 incident colorectal cancer cases, including 1,121 with available tissue Bifidobacterium data, during follow-up of 132,056 individuals. There was a difference in the association between long-term yogurt intake and colorectal cancer incidence based on the abundance of Bifidobacterium (P heterogeneity = 0.0002). Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.80 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.50 to 1.28) and 1.09 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.46) in individuals who consumed two or more servings/week versus less than one serving/month for Bifidobacterium -positive and Bifidobacterium -negative tumors, respectively. In a subgroup analysis of proximal colon cancer, this differential association was also seen (P heterogeneity, 0.018). "Our findings suggest that long-term yogurt intake may lower the incidence of Bifidobacterium -positive proximal colorectal cancer (but not Bifidobacterium -negative subtype)," the authors write. "Further studies are warranted to elucidate the potential mechanisms for the effects of long-term yogurt intake on colorectal carcinogenesis." Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

Initial safety and efficacy data from Phase 1 STARt-001 trial showed promising single agent clinical activity in patients with different types of PD-1 resistant tumors including TMB-H colorectal cancer Global Phase 2 clinical study for invikafusp alfa monotherapy in PD-1 resistant tumors is ongoing CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marengo Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel approaches for precision T cell activation, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation (FTD) to invikafusp alfa (STAR0602), Marengo's first-in-class selective dual T cell agonist being studied as a potential new treatment for advanced colorectal cancer with TMB-H. Fast Track designation is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of therapies intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions with unmet medical needs. "The FDA's Fast Track designation is an important milestone for the STAR0602 program and further positions our unique selective dual T cell agonist platform as a promising solution to address key challenges that perpetuate significant unmet needs in oncology," said Zhen Su, M.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Marengo Therapeutics. "This recognition specifically validates the promise of STAR0602 as a novel treatment option for patients with TMB-H metastatic colorectal cancer, which is insensitive to PD-1 treatment." The FDA's decision is informed by the encouraging results from Marengo's first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study of invikafusp alfa in heavily pretreated cancer patients, which were recently presented during a plenary oral session at the 2024 SITC Annual Meeting and an oral presentation at the 2024 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress. The data reinforce invikafusp alfa's anti-tumor activity and favorable safety profile. "Marengo's selective Vβ T cell activation approach targeting specific T cell subsets enriched in Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to enhance anti-tumor activity is unique and highly promising," said Bruce Chabner, M.D., Clinical Director Emeritus for the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "The Phase 2 clinical investigation of invikafusp alfa is ongoing and this novel treatment could lead to a new class of therapeutics for tumor types that are PD-1 insensitive or resistant, especially in colorectal cancer where current treatment options remain limited." Marengo is committed to advancing STAR0602 – the asset entered Phase 2 clinical trials at the end of 2024, and the company expects to report additional efficacy results later this year. About Marengo Therapeutics Marengo Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biotech company, develops novel TCR-targeting antibodies that selectively modulate common and disease-specific T cell subsets of the germline TCR repertoire to provide lifelong protection against cancer and other diseases. With a passionate team of dedicated scientists experienced in immunology and oncology, Marengo's proprietary Selective T Cell Activation Repertoire (STAR) platform leverages an extensive biological understanding of T cell function and receptor signaling to create a world in which everyone's immune system can defeat cancer. To learn more, visit marengotx.com. About the STAR™ Platform Marengo's STAR™ Platform is a multi-specific antibody-fusion platform derived from Marengo's proprietary library of antibodies targeting germline-encoded variable Vβ regions of the TCR fused to different T cell co-stimulatory moieties. Combining a novel non-clonal mode of TCR activation with a T cell co-stimulator in the same molecule, promotes a distinct mechanism of action that promotes durable anti-tumor Vβ T cell responses. About invikafusp alfa (STAR0602) Invikafusp alfa (STAR0602) is Marengo's lead program, and the first T cell activator generated from Marengo's STAR platform; a library of antibodies targeting non-clonal variable Vβ regions of the TCR fused to different co-stimulatory moieties. STAR0602 selectively targets a common Vβ T cell subset present in all cancers and, by combining a novel non-clonal mode of TCR activation with a T cell co-stimulator in the same molecule, promotes expansion of a new population of clonally enriched, effector memory Vβ T cells that turbo-charge tumor immune responses and promote durable clearance of tumors. STAR0602 has undergone extensive preclinical testing and is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. About the STARt-001 trial Clinical Study STARt-001 is a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, and preliminary clinical activity of invikafusp alfa (STAR0602) as a single agent in biomarker selected patients with advanced antigen-rich solid tumors including PD-1 refractory and rare tumors. This open-label, multi-center trial consists 2 of two parts: Phase 1 dose escalation and Phase 2 dose expansion. For more information, please visit clinicaltrials.gov (trial identifier: NCT05592626). For patients interested in enrolling in this study at NCI, please contact NCI's toll-free number 1800-4-Cancer (1-800-422-6237) (TTY: 1-800-332-8615) and/or the website and/or email [email protected]. Marengo Contacts: Media Peg Rusconi | [email protected] Investors Svetlana Makhni | [email protected] SOURCE Marengo Therapeutics WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 -- Taxi and ambulance drivers need to have quick wits and nimble reflexes to cut through traffic effectively. Turns out that these traits might also protect them from Alzheimer’s disease , according to a new study published Dec. 16 in the BMJ . “The same part of the brain that’s involved in creating cognitive spatial maps -- which we use to navigate the world around us -- is also involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” explained lead researcher Dr. Vishal Patel , a surgical resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “We hypothesized that occupations such as taxi driving and ambulance driving, which demand real-time spatial and navigational processing, might be associated with a reduced burden of Alzheimer’s disease mortality compared with other occupations,” Patel added in a hospital news release. However, the same benefit didn’t hold for jobs that rely on following a fixed route, such as driving a bus or flying a plane, researchers noted. For the study, researchers analyzed death records of nearly 9 million people involved in 443 different occupations. The people all died between 2020 and 2022. Across all occupations, nearly 4% of those people died from Alzheimer’s disease. But only 1% of taxi drivers and 0.7% of ambulance drivers died from Alzheimer’s, researchers found. After adjustment, ambulance and taxi drivers had the lowest proportion of deaths due to Alzheimer’s out of all the professions. By comparison, about 3% of bus drivers and 4% of pilots died from Alzheimer’s, results show. “Our results highlight the possibility that neurological changes in the hippocampus or elsewhere among taxi and ambulance drivers may account for the lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease,” said senior researcher Dr. Anupam Jena , a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The hippocampus is the brain region that helps transfer short-term memories into long-term memory, according to the Cleveland Clinic . It also plays a role in navigation and emotional processing. However, researchers noted that this was an observational study and can’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between those careers and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s. “We view these findings not as conclusive, but as hypothesis-generating,” Jena said. “But they suggest that it’s important to consider how occupations may affect risk of death from Alzheimer’s disease and whether any cognitive activities can be potentially preventive.” Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.