Aethon Therapeutics uses its HapImmune™ platform to engineer antibodies that create synthetic neoantigens on drug‑resistant cancer cells after exposure to targeted therapies, such as KRAS‑G12C inhibitors. These hapten‑peptide constructs flag the resistant cells for immune clearance, enabling selective antibody‑mediated killing while sparing normal tissue. The modular system is designed for partnership with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to enhance the durability of targeted oncology treatments.
Funding
$30M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Targeted cancer therapies often fail to eradicate drug‑resistant tumor cells, leading to disease progression and limited patient survival. Without a mechanism to flag these resistant cells for immune clearance, existing treatments cannot achieve durable responses.
Solution
Aethon Therapeutics’ HapImmune™ platform engineers novel antibodies that generate synthetic neoantigens on drug‑resistant cancer cells, converting them into targets for the immune system. By designing hapten‑peptide constructs that are covalently linked to the tumor surface only after exposure to a specific targeted therapy (e.g., KRAS‑G12C inhibitors), the platform creates a tumor‑specific immune signature. The resulting antibody‑mediated immune response selectively eliminates the resistant cell population while sparing normal tissue. This combinatorial approach integrates targeted inhibition with active immunotherapy, aiming to transform partial responses into curative outcomes.
Target Audience
Primary customers are pharmaceutical and biotech companies developing targeted oncology agents, as well as academic and clinical research groups seeking to augment those agents with immune‑mediated clearance of resistant tumor cells.
Features
- Platform for rational design of synthetic neoantigens (hapten‑peptide conjugates) that are expressed exclusively on cells treated with a targeted inhibitor
- Engineered monoclonal antibodies that recognize the synthetic neoantigen and recruit immune effector mechanisms
- Compatibility with a range of targeted therapies, demonstrated with KRAS‑G12C inhibitor–induced neoantigens
- Preclinical validation showing selective killing of drug‑resistant tumor cells and induction of durable anti‑tumor immunity
- Modular workflow enabling rapid generation of customized antibody‑neoantigen pairs for different oncogenic targets