Akari Therapeutics Continues Key Research on its Novel Antibody Drug Conjugate Payload PH1 to Further Demonstrate its Unique Ability to Target Cancers Fueled by Oncogenic Drivers
PH1 modulates RNA splicing, causing cancer cell death while activating the immune system to attack cancer throughout the body
Company advancing pipeline of ADCs using PH1 payload across both Trop2 and an undisclosed target
Emerging new preclinical data on impact of PH1 payload against a key oncogenic driver is expected before year-end
BOSTON and LONDON, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akari Therapeutics, Plc (NASDAQ:AKTX), an oncology biotechnology company developing novel immuno-oncology payload antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer, today reiterated its commitment to ongoing research to better understand the multiple effects of its novel spliceosome modulator, PH1, having demonstrated it may also act to inhibit key drivers in cancer tumors.
"We are excited to build on the scientific data already established for our novel PH1 spliceosome modulator payload with continued, ongoing research," commented Abizer Gaslightwala, President and CEO of Akari Therapeutics. "In addition to the cytotoxic and immuno-oncology modes of action for this payload, we have also demonstrated its ability to induce cytotoxicity in cancer cells under the influence of key oncogenic drivers such as KRAS, BRAF, and FGFR3 (Patent WO2024220546A2). As such, we are continuing to further investigate how this novel payload may impact other key drivers relevant to cancer tumors, and we look forward to releasing this key data in the near future."
Akari's ADCs utilize its novel spliceosome modulator payload, PH1, and have the potential to significantly improve future oncology therapies based on current preclinical data demonstrating the following:
- Killing cancer cells while activating the immune system: In addition to killing cancer cells, spliceosome modulation by the PH1 payload causes the accumulation of mis-spliced proteins, generating neoantigens that activate the immune system to further attack the cancer tumor.
- Reducing off-target toxicity: Linker is engineered to only release PH1 payload intracellularly within targeted cancer cells to mitigate off-target toxicity.
- Circumventing traditional cancer resistance mechanisms: PH1 is resistant to standard efflux transporters that can cause cancer cells to become resistant to current payloads used on ADCs.
Akari continues to build on this key data for its spliceosome modulator payload with further research ongoing on how the payload can also disrupt key drivers responsible for cancer cell growth. Preliminary data from additional preclinical research experiments testing activity of PH1 against an established oncogenic driver unique to a major tumor are expected before year-end.
About Akari Therapeutics
Akari Therapeutics is an oncology biotechnology company developing novel payload antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). The Company has developed its first novel payload, PH1, a spliceosome modulator designed to disrupt RNA splicing within cells. PH1 is highly differentiated in its mechanism of action against cancer cells from current ADC payloads that use Topoisomerase1 inhibitors or tubulin inhibitors. This splicing modulator has been shown in preclinical animal models to induce cancer cell death while activating immune cells to drive robust and durable activity. Using this novel payload, Akari has the ability to generate multiple ADC molecules based on the desired application to a range of cancer targets of interest. Akari's lead candidate, AKTX-101, targets the Trop2 receptor on cancer cells and delivers its novel PH1 payload directly into the tumor. In preclinical studies, AKTX-101 has shown to have significant activity and prolonged survival, relative to ADCs with traditional payloads. Additionally, AKTX-101 has the potential to be synergistic with checkpoint inhibitors and has demonstrated prolonged survival as both a single agent and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, as compared to appropriate controls. The Company is generating validating data on its novel payload PH1 to continue advancing its lead asset, as well as other undisclosed targets with this novel payload.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.akaritx.com and connect on X and LinkedIn.
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