WALTHAM, Mass.– BostonGene and ImmunoGenesis have announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the clinical development of IMGS-001, an experimental cancer therapy designed to overcome resistance to immunotherapy.
IMGS-001 is a cytotoxic immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets both PD-L1 and PD-L2 and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1a/b clinical trial involving patients with solid tumors that have not responded to standard treatments.
The collaboration will use BostonGene’s AI-driven multiomics platform to analyze patients’ immune and genetic profiles, with the goal of identifying those most likely to benefit from the therapy and better understanding how the drug works at a molecular level.
“IMGS-001, through its multifunctional mechanism of both direct cell killing and PD-1 pathway blockade, has been specifically engineered to drive clinical benefit in patients with tumors resistant to current immunotherapies,” said James Barlow, President and CEO of ImmunoGenesis. “BostonGene’s cutting edge technology can both elucidate the mechanism of action of the drug and identify those patients with unmet medical need most likely to benefit.”
As part of the partnership, BostonGene will conduct deep molecular profiling of patients treated with IMGS-001, integrating spatial biology with immune system monitoring. The companies said this approach is expected to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how the therapy affects the tumor microenvironment and to improve patient selection for treatment.
“We believe this partnership represents a significant leap beyond conventional clinical monitoring,” said Charles Schweizer, PhD, Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at ImmunoGenesis. “By embedding BostonGene’s AI-powered insights into our clinical framework, we are decoding the precise cellular and molecular pathways driving clinical outcomes. This clarity will allow us to move with greater speed and precision, ultimately strengthening the potential of IMGS-001 to address unmet medical needs for patients with cold or immune excluded tumors.”
The companies said the collaboration aims to move beyond traditional biomarker approaches by providing a system-level understanding of disease biology and therapeutic response. This could help reduce the trial-and-error nature of immunotherapy by ensuring that patients receive treatments more likely to be effective.
“Modern oncology demands a shift from broad application to data-driven precision,” said Nathan Fowler, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of BostonGene. “By combining our spatial and multiomic expertise with the innovative pipeline at ImmunoGenesis, we are defining the mechanism by which IMGS-001 overcomes immunotherapy resistance. This critical collaboration delivers important evidence needed to guide the next generation of precision immunotherapy.”
