n Display of Biologics
n Engineering Antibodies
n Machine Learning: Part 2

16th Annual

FINAL AGENDA

TARGETSn Antibody-Based Therapies
n Emerging Targets & Approaches
n Membrane Protein Targets

n Safety & Efficacy
n Advancing Multispecifics
n Engineering Bispecifics

n Modulating the TME
n Innovative CAR T Therapy
n Next-Gen Immunotherapies

Protein & Antibody Engineering Summit
5 - 7 NOVEMBER 2024
Montjuic Palau de Congressos - Fira Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain + Virtualn Optimisation & Developabilityn Analytical Characterisationn Protein Stability & Formulation

PLENARY
DEEP DIVEn Data Science & Engineeringn Optimising Expressionn Process Development

Shaping the Next
Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex
Modalities and Combinations

n Intro to Machine Learningn Machine Learning: Part 1
n Machine Learning: Part 2

MODERATOR:
Christian Klein, PhD,
Roche Innovation Center

ONCOLOGYSPEAKERS:n Antibody-Based Therapies
n Engineering Conjugatesn Next-Gen Immunotherapies

PREMIER SPONSORS®

PEGSummitEurope.com

1 | PEGSummitEurope.com			SAVE €400!
Register by 13 September

Taruna Arora, PhD,
Bristol Myers Squibb

Tomoyuki Igawa,
PhD, Chugai
Pharmabody Research

Hironori Matsunaga,
PhD, Daiichi Sankyo

TABLE OF

CONTENTSn Display of Biologics
n Engineering Antibodies
n Machine Learning: Part 2

Click to View

n Optimisation & Developabilityn Analytical Characterisationn Protein Stability & Formulation

TARGETSn Antibody-Based Therapies
n Emerging Targets & Approaches
n Membrane Protein Targets

n Safety & Efficacy
n Advancing Multispecifics
n Engineering Bispecifics

n Modulating the TME
n Innovative CAR T Therapy
n Next-Gen Immunotherapies

2 | PEGSummitEurope.com			
2 | PEGSummitEurope.com			n Data Science & Engineeringn Optimising Expressionn Process Development

CONFERENCE AT-A-GLANCEPLENARY KEYNOTE SESSIONSPONSORS

n Intro to Machine Learningn Machine Learning: Part 1
n Machine Learning: Part 2

SHORT COURSESTRAINING SEMINARSONCOLOGYSPONSOR & EXHIBIT OPPORTUNITIESn Antibody-Based Therapies
n Engineering Conjugatesn Next-Gen Immunotherapies

HOTEL & TRAVEL INFORMATIONREGISTRATION INFORMATION

CONFERENCE AT-A-GLANCEENGINEERINGTARGETSANALYTICAL
EXPRESSIONMACHINELEARNING

Pre-conference short courses*

IMMUNOTHERAPYMONDAY 4 November

BISPECIFICSONCOLOGYTUESDAY 5 November

WEDNESDAY 6 November

THURSDAY 7 November

Display of Biologics

Engineering Antibodies

Machine Learning: Part 2

Antibody-Based Therapies

Emerging Targets & Approaches

Membrane Protein Targets

Safety and Efficacy of Bispecifics

Advancing Multispecifics

Engineering Bispecifics

Modulating the TME

Innovative CAR T Therapy

Next-Gen Immunotherapies

Optimisation & Developability

Analytical Characterisation

Protein Stability & Formulation

Data Science & Engineering

Optimising Expression

Protein Process Development

TS7A: Introduction to Machine
Learning for Biologics Design

Machine Learning: Part 1

Machine Learning: Part 2

Antibody-Based Therapies

Engineering Conjugates

Next-Gen Immunotherapies

TS8A: Introduction to Multispecific Antibodies:
History, Engineering, and Application
TS9A: Current Applications of Host Expression
Systems and Optimisation of the CEPA
Workflow to Support Therapeutic Generationand Structural Biology
TS10A: Introduction to Analytical
Characterisation and Method Validation for
Biological Products*Separate registration required for short courses.

3 | PEGSummitEurope.com			
3 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

TS9B: Label-Free Biosensor Tools in
Biotherapeutic Discovery: SPR, BLI
and KinExA

The best biologics technology meetingin Europe. A must-attend conference
for novel biologics.
Rakesh D., PhD
President & CEO, Bionavigen

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
6 NOVEMBER 2024 | 15:30-16:05

Multispecific
Antibody
Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD,
Vice President, Discovery
Research Division,
Chugai Pharmabody
Research Pte Ltd.

ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga,
PhD, Scientist, Discovery
Research Lab I Group II,
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

Immunotherapy
Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Vice
President, Biotherapeutics,
Bristol Myers Squibb

PLENARY PANEL

Present a Poster and SAVE €50

6 NOVEMBER 2024 | 16:05-16:35

Shaping the Next
Stage of Antibody
Development with
Complex Modalities
and Combinations

MODERATOR:
Christian Klein, PhD,
Head, Oncology Programs
and Department Head,
Cancer Immunotherapy
Discovery, Roche
Innovation Center Zurich,
Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

Cambridge Healthtech Institute encourages attendees to gain
further exposure by presenting their work in the poster sessions.
To secure an onsite poster board and/or ensure your poster is
included in the conference materials, your full submission must be
received, and your registration paid in full by 4 October 2024.
Register and indicate that you would like to present a poster. Once
your registration has been fully processed, we will send an email
with a unique link and instructions for submitting your materials.
Please see below for more information.

REASONS YOU SHOULD PRESENT YOURRESEARCH POSTER AT THIS CONFERENCE:PANELISTS:• Your research will be seen by our international delegation,
representing leaders from top pharmaceutical, biotech,academic, and government institutions• Discuss your research and collaborate with otherattendees

Taruna Arora, PhD,
Vice President,
Biotherapeutics, Bristol
Myers Squibb

Tomoyuki Igawa,
PhD, Vice President,
Discovery Research
Division, Chugai
Pharmabody
Research Pte Ltd.

4 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

Hironori Matsunaga,
PhD, Scientist,
Discovery Research
Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

• Your poster will be published in our conference materials• Receive €50 off your registration

LEARN MORECURRENT SPONSORSPREMIER SPONSORS®

CORPORATE SPONSORSCORPORATE SUPPORT SPONSORS

5 | PEGSummitEurope.com			SHORT COURSES*COURSES* ||MONDAY,
MONDAY,13
4 NOVEMBERSHORTNOVEMBER
All short courses will take place in-person only from 14:00 – 17:00 on 4 November. Our short courses are designed to be
instructional, interactive, and provide in-depth information on a specific topic. They allow for one-on-one interaction between
the participants and instructors to facilitate the explanation of the more technical aspects that would otherwise not becovered during our main presentations.
SC1: Developability of Bispecific
Antibodies: Formats andApplications

SC2: Advanced Applications of
SPR & BLI Biosensors for Drug
Discovery and Development

Instructor:
Nimish Gera, PhD, Vice President, Biologics, Mythic
Therapeutics
Bispecific antibodies are a rapidly growing
and clinically validated class of antibodies
with marketed drugs and multiple candidates
in clinical trials. Targeting multiple antigens
in a synergistic manner can confer enhanced
therapeutic benefit and potentially uncovernovel biological mechanisms. However, multiple
formats and a tedious candidate selection
process to select functional and developablebispecific antibodies makes such programs
cumbersome. This short course highlights the
rapid growth in the field, therapeutic applications,and focuses on challenges with discovery anddevelopment of bispecific antibodies. We will use
an approved bispecific antibody as a case study
to understand the varied aspects of discovery anddevelopment of bispecific antibody programs.

Instructor:
Vishal Kamat, PhD, Senior Director, Protein
Sciences, Ampersand Biomedicines
The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and biolayer interferometry (BLI) biosensors stand as thecornerstone real-time label-free (RT-LF) platforms
for characterizing protein-protein interactions.
Traditionally used for determining criticalantibody binding affinities in lead therapeutic
molecule selection, these biosensors now faceevolving demands. With advancements in protein
engineering and regulatory agencies mandating
deeper elucidation of mechanism of action, there
is a continued need to design sophisticated
SPR and BLI assays. This short course aims tounveil novel approaches in designing SPR/BLI
assays that emulate biological processes on thechip, along with the challenges encountered intheir development. Various assays instrumental
in identifying multiple clinical molecules will
be showcased, highlighting the importance of
SPR/BLI assays. Innovative assays tailoredspecifically for assessing the mechanism ofaction of clinical candidates which has become
an integral part of the IND filing process, will
also be presented. Attendees will gain valuable
insights into harnessing these cutting-edge
techniques to bolster their research endeavors
and regulatory submissions.

SC3: Tools for Cell LineEngineering and Development
Instructor:
Mario P. Pereira, PhD, Director of Technology &Business Development, ATUM
Where are we heading to? We are heading to
the future of tools for Cell Line Engineering andDevelopment. The first question we ask is “howearly can we go to clinic”? Then, we move to lookat landing pads—are they really the future? This
course will also address genetic engineering andnew biologics platforms.

6 | PEGSummitEurope.com			SC4: In silico and Machine
Learning Tools for Antibody
Design and Developability
Predictions
Instructors:
Rahmad Akbar, PhD, Senior Data Scientist, Antibody
Design, Novo Nordisk
Philip M. Kim, PhD, Professor, Molecular Genetics &Computer Science, University of Toronto
Shipra Malhotra, PhD, Senior Scientist, Biologics,
Computational Biology and Machine Learning,
TakedaIn silico developability predictive platforms offer
promising screening support to identify optimal
properties of a candidate biotherapeutic at earlystages. Predicting your biologic’s developability
can help avoid instability problems duringlater development and impede significant
economic consequences.

SC5: Best Practices for Targeting
GPCRs, Ion Channels, andTransporters with Monoclonal
Antibodies

SC6: Introduction to
Immunogenicity ofBiotherapeutics
Instructors:
Sophie Tourdot, PhD, Immunogenicity Sciences
Lead, BioMedicine Design, Pfizer Inc.
Maria-Dolores Vazquez-Abad, PhD, Vice President,
Clinical Immunogenicity, Pfizer Inc.
This session provides clear definitions of theunwanted immune responses due immunogenic
drugs, the workshop will cover how toappropriately collect, analyze, and report potential
immunogenic adverse events; assessmentand management strategies in alignment withregulatory agencies immunogenicity guidelines.
Researchers and clinicians will effectively identify,
evaluate, report, analyze, and manage potential
immunogenic adverse events, ultimately ensuring
the safety and well-being of individuals receiving
the treatment.

Instructor:
Ross Chambers, PhD, Vice President, Antibody
Discovery, Integral Molecular, Inc.
Complex membrane proteins are importanttherapeutic targets and together represent
the majority of protein classes addressed bytherapeutic drugs. Significant opportunities exist
for targeting complex membrane proteins with
antibodies, but it has been challenging to discover
therapeutic antibodies against them. This
course will examine emerging technologies andstrategies for enabling the isolation of specificand functional antibodies against GPCRs, ion
channels, and transporters, and highlight progress
via case studies.

*Separate registration required. See registration page for details.

5 & 6 NOVEMBER
All training seminars will take place in-person only
Tuesday, 5 November, 2024 08:25 - 18:35
TS7A: Introduction to Machine Learning for
Biologics Design
Instructor:
Christopher R. Corbeil, PhD, Research Officer, Human Health
Therapeutics, National Research Council CanadaThis course offers an introduction to concepts, strategies, andmachine learning methods used for biologics design. It includes
presentations and demonstrations of the methods used in thefield, covering techniques such as triaging sequences, modulating
affinity, and designing antibody libraries, along with increasing
manufacturability. The course is directed at scientists new to thefield and protein engineers wanting an introduction to how machinelearning can aid in guiding biologics design.

TS8A: Introduction to Multispecific
Antibodies: History, Engineering, andApplication
Instructor:
G. Jonah Rainey, PhD, Senior Director, Protein Engineering, Eli Lilly andCompany
Introduction to Multispecific Antibodies will be organized as an
informative and practical guide to getting up to speed on criticalaspects of multispecific antibody therapeutics. Topics will include
historical successes, failures, and lessons learned. Specificpractical instruction will span mechanisms of action, engineering,developability, regulatory considerations, and translationalguidelines. Perspectives on ideal implementation of multispecifics
as targeted and immunomodulatory approaches will be discussed.

7 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

TS9A: Current Applications of Host
Expression Systems and Optimisation of
the CEPA Workflow to Support Therapeutic
Generation and Structural Biology
Instructors:
Richard Altman, MS, Field Application Scientist, Life Science Solutions,
Thermo Fisher ScientificHenry C. Chiou, PhD, Senior Director General Manager, Biosciences,
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Dominic Esposito, PhD, Director, Protein Sciences, Frederick National
Laboratory
Protein production is more complex than just the act of expressing
the proteins. This training seminar will review the end-to-end protein
production CEPA (Cloning, Expression, Purification, Analytics)
workflow process and focus on how to increase its efficiency andproductivity. The choice of a suitable host expression systemdepends mainly on the biological and biochemical properties of anindividual protein. We will review the concepts and applications of
the major host expression systems, then turn our focus to the insect
and mammalian systems, which have shown the ability to express
complex proteins for a wide variety of applications. This seminar
will combine instruction and current case studies in an interactive
environment. It is recommended for scientists of all experiencelevels interested in addressing the demand for increasingly complex
proteins within ever decreasing timelines.

TS10A: Introduction to Analytical
Characterisation and Method Validation for
Biological Products
Instructor:
Kevin Zen, PhD, Senior Director, IGM Biosciences
This interactive training seminar introduces a full spectrum of
analytical procedures and characterization methods in biotech,gene and cell therapy product development. The instructor will
update the new ICH guidelines on how to develop analyticalprocedures (Q14, 2024) and validate test methods (Q2(R2), 2024)
in the context of IMPD/IND regulatory filing. Attendees will learn thepractical aspects of the commonly used analytical procedures toaddress product identity, purity and impurity, strength and potency,
process-related impurities and contaminants. The extended
characterization will elaborate structure elucidation by mass
spectroscopy, primary and secondary structure, post-translational
modification, glycan profiling, charge variant analysis, biophysicalcharacterization of higher order structure and aggregation. The
class is for academics, newcomers in industry, and veteranswanting an update on analytical technologies.

Wednesday, 6 November,
2024 08:25 - 19:45
TS9B: Label-Free Biosensor Tools in
Biotherapeutic Discovery: SPR, BLI
and KinExA
Instructors:
Yasmina Abdiche, PhD, Vice President, Exploratory Research, OmniAb
Inc.
Palaniswami (Swami) Rathanaswami, PhD, CEO, PRSwami AbDev Inc.
This training seminar will cover the main applications andguidelines for best practices of commonly used commercial labelfree biosensors in the interaction analysis of therapeutic antibodies.
We will primarily focus on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) andKinetic Exclusion Assay (KinExA) technologies but will also address
other surface (BLI) and solution (MSD and Gyrolab) methods. We
will first cover the fundamental concepts used to design a binding
kinetic experiment for affinity determination, then do a ‘deep dive’
into epitope binning and explore solution affinity methods with anemphasis on expanding throughput. In addition, we will showcase
the complementary use of surface and solution approaches fordetermining affinities across a broad range of values to highlighttheir unique strengths and limitations.

ENGINEERING STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINDISPLAY OF BIOLOGICS

Leading the Way for New Classes of Therapy
Tuesday 5 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

FUTURE DISPLAY: AI Enabling Discovery Workflows
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Maria Groves, PhD, Director and Head of the Antibody Alliance Laboratory, AstraZeneca

8:30 Augmenting Antibody-Drug Discovery with Deep Screening and Machine Learning
Christopher Wassif, PhD, Director, Molecular Engineering & Antibody Technologies, AstraZeneca
This presentation will focus on the convergence of a new high throughput antibody discovery platform
capable of screening hundreds of millions of antibodies with machine learning and artificial intelligenceto accelerate the full discovery process. This work is resulting in the identification of high affinity,
developable modalities fit for therapeutic use in accelerated time frames while generating significant
amounts of data further refining our algorithms and models.

9:00 Mammalian Display Selection of Enriched Antibody Repertoires for AI/
ML Optimisation
Michael R. Dyson, PhD, Vice President, Antibody Discovery & Engineering, Ichnos Glenmark Innovation
The design of potent multispecific immune cell engagers, based on the Ichnos BEAT platform, relieson the identification of diverse and developable Fabs incorporating a common light chain (cLC). We
have developed a high-fidelity mammalian display system for enrichment of antibodies bespoke for thedesired binder profiles. This enables NGS analysis of multi-dimensional FACS gated populations and thecreation of rich datasets for antibody optimisation by AI/ML methods.

9:30 PANEL DISCUSSION: In silico Design of Antibodies, Present and Future
Perspectives
Moderator: Rebecca Croasdale-Wood, PhD, Senior Director, Augmented Biologics Discovery &Design, Biologics Engineering, Oncology, AstraZeneca
Advancements in AI and computational modelling are changing the antibody design landscapefor drug discovery, in this session industry experts will share their perspectives onin silicoantibody design.- State-of-the-art in silico methods for antibody design and optimisation-

Embedding in silico technologies into drug discovery workflows- Data requirements for next
generation in silico design- Future state: de novo antibody design
Panelists:
Andrew R.M. Bradbury, MD, PhD, CSO, Specifica, Inc., a Q2 Solutions Company
Charlotte M. Deane, PhD, Professor, Structural Bioinformatics, Statistics, University of Oxford;
Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Andreas Evers, PhD, Associate Scientific Director, Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Global
Research & Development Discovery Technology, Merck Healthcare KGaA

10:00 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

DIFFICULT TARGETS
11:10 Chairperson’s Remarks and Tribute to Garry Merry
Ahuva Nissim, PhD, Professor, Antibody and Therapeutic Engineering, William Harvey Research Institute,
Queen Mary University of London

11:15 Computationally Designed Repertoires of Enzymes and Antibodies
Sarel J. Fleishman, PhD, Associate Professor, Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science; Chief
Scientist, Scala Biodesign
We present a new strategy that combines atomistic design calculations and machine learning to design
repertoires of multipoint mutants highly enriched in stable, foldable, and functional variants. Applying
high-throughput screening to designed libraries yields variants with large changes in activity profiles
including orders of magnitude improvement in antibody affinity, catalytic activity, or specificity.

11:45 Chimeric Antigens Displaying GPR65 Extracellular Loops for Antibody Discovery
Cécile Galmiche, PhD, Senior Scientist, Antibody Discovery, UCB
GPR65 is a proton-sensing G-protein coupled receptor associated with multiple immune-mediatedinflammatory diseases. To probe its biology, a phage display antibody discovery campaign was
performed using soluble chimeric ApoE3 scaffolds to present the extracellular loops of GPR65. Loopspecific antibodies were identified and their ability to bind the wild-type receptor generated confidence
in the use of chimeric soluble proteins to act as efficient surrogates for membrane protein extracellularloop antigens.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation to be Announced
12:30 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

8 | PEGSummitEurope.com			ENGINEERING STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINDISPLAY OF BIOLOGICS

Leading the Way for New Classes of Therapy
ACCELERATING AND IMPROVING THERAPEUTIC PROTEINDISCOVERY AGAINST COMPLEX TARGETS: Combining
Combinatorial Platforms with Deep Sequencing andComputational Methods
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Geir Age Loset, PhD, CEO, Nextera AS

13:50 Rapid Discovery of High-Affinity Antibodies by Deep Screening
Philipp Holliger, PhD, Program Leader, Joint Head of Protein & Nucleic Acid Chemistry (PNAC) Division, MRC
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
Deep screening leverages the Illumina HiSeq platform for massively parallel sequencing, display, andrapid affinity screening at the level of >10e8 individual antibody-antigen interactions. Deep screening
enabled the discovery of mid- to high-picomolar single-chain Fv (scFv) antibody leads directly from
unselected, synthetic scFv repertoires augmented by machine learning. Deep screening promises toaccelerate antibody discovery for a wide range of targets.

14:20 Discovery of Broadly-Neutralising Antibodies and Other Binding Proteins for
Treatment of Snakebite Envenoming
Anne Ljungars, PhD, Senior Scientist, Technical University of Denmark
Snakebite envenoming leads to over 100,000 fatalities annually, with additional victims suffering fromlong-term complications. Today, the only existing specific therapy against envenoming is polyclonal,
plasma-derived antivenoms from immunized animals. While life-saving, these medicines come with therisk of causing adverse reactions. To address this, recombinant monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies
that target medically relevant toxins in the snake venoms are being explored as therapeutic alternatives.

14:50 Optimised pIX Phage Display Discovery of Potent and Rare Therapeutic TCR-Like
Antibody Candidates
Geir Age Loset, PhD, CEO, Nextera AS
Targeting pHLA class I and II at therapeutic resolution has been largely restricted to approaches
building on the native TCR ligand as biologics or cell therapy. We here show how the special pIX phagedisplay system has been optimised and combined with in silico guidance and deep sequencing as aunique platform allowing TCR-Like antibodies to enter this stage beyond the current state of the art.

15:20 Mastering Immunogenicity Risk Assessment and Biologics Development
Jeremy Fry, Director of Sales, ProImmune Ltd.
This presentation will highlight integrated platforms to address the criticality of mitigating
immunogenicity risk in drug development. Case studies highlight ProImmune’s solutions: DC-T/T
assays for lead optimization, MAPPS for antigen presentation, HLA-peptide assays for epitope
characterization, and whole blood cytokine storm assays. Also introducing Ankyrons™, stable singledomain proteins that surpass current antibody limitations, showcasing their potential to revolutionize
drug research.

9 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

CONDITIONAL ACTIVATION
16:34 Chairperson’s Remarks
E. Sally Ward, PhD, Director, Translational Immunology; Professor, Molecular Immunology, Centre for Cancer
Immunology, University of Southampton

16:35 Presentation to be Announced
16:50 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:05 Discovery and Functional Validation of Anti-Idiotypic Binding Modules for Conditional
Antibody Activation
Harald Kolmar, PhD, Professor and Head, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische
Universität Darmstadt
We use chicken immunisation in combination with yeast surface display and a competitive FACS
screening for the isolation of single chain Fv fragments that functionally block a therapeutic antibody.
N-terminal fusion with an MMP-9 cleavable linker results in variants with more than 1000-foldattenuated affinity, where proteolytic demasking enables regain of antibody function in the tumour
microenvironment.

17:35 Engineering Scaffold Proteins for Conditional Targeting
Sophia Hober, PhD, Professor, School of Biotechnology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
By using combinatorial protein engineering and protein library technologies, small protein scaffolds
can be engineered and thereby equipped with various functions. To develop protein-based systems
for protein diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, we are utilising small, well characterised domains. To
suit the intended use, the biodistribution, half-life as well as the cell internalisation can be manipulated.
Here, the development, evaluation and use of these affinity domains will be discussed.

18:05 Big Data, Bigger Discoveries: Shaping the Future of Antibody Discovery
Okan Aydin, Business Development Scientist, ENPICOM
Antibody discovery is evolving rapidly with advancements like Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)
and high-throughput screening. However, the sheer volume of data generated presents a formidable
challenge in extracting meaningful insights. Join us for a discussion on how scalability, tailored tools,
and machine learning converge to address this challenge. Discover how the IGX Platform empowers
research teams to navigate complex datasets, accelerating discovery timelines. We’ll also explore
practical strategies for integrating machine learning into your research, ensuring you can leverage these
innovations effectively.

18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Display of Biologics ConferenceENGINEERING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
9TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING ANTIBODIES &BEYOND Designing the Next Best-in-Class Biologics
Wednesday 6 November

10:00 Presentation to be Announced

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

TARGETED RADIOTHERAPIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Lars Linden, PhD, Vice President, Head, Biologics Research, Bayer AG

8:30 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Considerations for the Successful
Development of Targeted Radiotherapies
Urs B. Hagemann, PhD, Head, Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals, Research & Early
Development Oncology, Bayer AG
Targeted alpha therapies (TATs) are an emerging class of radiopharmaceuticals which
systemically deliver high linear energy transfer alpha-emitters to tumours by coupling theradionuclide to tumour-targeting moieties. The mode of action of TATs relies on the inductionof DNA double strand breaks. Therefore, TATs have the potential to overcome mechanisms ofresistance and improve outcomes in patients with advanced disease. Considerations for the
successful development of TATs will be presented.

9:00 Recent Advances in Developing Radio-DARPin Therapeutics
Andreas Bosshart, PhD, Senior Director, Oncology Research, Lead Generation, Molecular Partners AG
Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins) offer distinct advantages for therapeutic drug
design, including small size, thermostable architecture, and high target specificity and affinity.
This presentation highlights recent advances of our Radio-DARPin Therapeutics (RDT) program.
Through surface engineering and half-life tuning, we developed RDT candidates with minimal kidney
accumulation and effective tumour uptake. Thereby, they exhibit biodistribution properties suitable
for therapeutic applications and overcome nephrotoxicity-related limitations of other protein-based
radiopharmaceutical approaches.

9:30 Development of ABY-271 and the ABY-025 Affibody Theranostic Pair for Patients with
HER2-Expressing Disease
Fredrik Frejd, PhD, CSO, Affibody AB
HER2 is an oncogenic driver of several cancers. An affibody molecule specific for HER2 has beendeveloped. Receptor expression levels in metastatic lesions in patients with spread disease canbe determined using PET imaging. Tissue distribution profile has been optimised for therapy byprotein engineering. Preclinical data show potential for therapeutic effect in combination withtrastuzumab. ABY-271 is in preclinical development for molecular radiotherapy of patients with HER2expressing disease.

10 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

TARGETED PROTEIN DEGRADERS
11:15 EpiTACs Are a Novel Bispecific Antibody Platform to Degrade Disease-Driving
Extracellular Targets
Shyra J. Gardai, PhD, CSO, EpiBiologics
Eliminating extracellular proteins is a compelling therapeutic modality. EpiTACs are bispecificantibodies in which one arm binds a target and the other arm leverages an EpiAtlas of tissue-enricheddegrading receptors comprised of transmembrane ligases, cytokine/chemokine receptors, andinternalising receptors resulting in selective degradation of membrane and soluble proteins. EpiTACs
elicit robust in vitro and in vivo activity in a target-, tissue-, and disease-specific manner for a broad
range of indications.

11:45 Beyond the Classical Payloads—Kinase Degraders as Antibody Armaments
Joost Uitdehaag, PhD, Head of Biology, Crossfire Oncology
Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) have proven to be a very successful modality. Their therapeuticpotential is, however, limited by off-tumour toxicity associated with the (free) payload. Recently, aninnovative class of small molecules has drawn attention for use as novel payloads: heterobifunctional
protein degraders. During this presentation we will show how the sophisticated design of these novel
degrader-based payloads can overcome these challenges and improve the therapeutic window of ADCs.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation to be Announced
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

DESIGNING BRAIN SHUTTLE-ENABLED ANTIBODIES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Pawel Stocki, PhD, Vice President Research, Ossianix

13:50 Novel Transferrin Receptor (TfR1) Brain Shuttles for Transforming the Treatmentof CNS Diseases
Pawel Stocki, PhD, Vice President Research, Ossianix
Delivery of therapeutics to the brain remains a significant challenge. Ossianix developed TXP1, abrain shuttle based on a single-domain anti-TfR1 antibody, with reactivity to human and monkey. In
NHPs, TXP1 exhibited >35-fold increase in brain penetration, distributed widely in the brain but without
accumulation in other organs. TXP1 represents a technological leap forward in achieving high brainpenetration and specificity, holding promise for patients with CNS disorders.

ENGINEERING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
9TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING ANTIBODIES &BEYOND Designing the Next Best-in-Class Biologics
14:20 Rational Design of a Brain Delivery Platform

15:55 ADC Highlights

Per-Ola Freskgard, PhD, Distinguished Scientist, BioArctic AB
Brain uptake of therapeutic modalities such as antibodies and recombinant enzymes is severely limitedby their size due to the blood brain barrier (BBB). To address this issue, we are developing technologies
to actively transport these molecules across the BBB using receptor-mediated transcytosis. Our
technology is engineered using structural data as guidance to engage with a BBB receptor in apreferable position, to improve treatment of various brain disorders.

Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

14:50 Finding the Needle in the Bispecific Antibody HaystackStefan Schmidt, CEO, evitria AG
Bispecific antibodies are currently the fastest growing segment of the antibody market. Selecting theantibody for binding is no longer sufficient as other parameters such as avidity, geometry, flexibility or
spatial distance of the binders have a huge impact on the biological function. Therefore, a huge variety
of formats has been developed. In this presentation we describe the manufacturing and comparison ofa range of different versions and discuss properties and advantages of these antibodies.

15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

11 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

ENGINEERING NOVEL ANTIBODIES
17:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)ENGINEERING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
9TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING ANTIBODIES &BEYOND Designing the Next Best-in-Class Biologics
17:45 From DNA-Encoded Chemistry to Anti-Cancer Radio Ligand Therapeutics and Small
Molecule-Drug Conjugates

potentially reshaping the standard of care for haemophilia A patients, but also offering promise for arange of chronic diseases.

Samuele Cazzamalli, PhD, Group Head—Senior Scientist, Philochem AG
Conventional cancer chemotherapy relies on the use of cytotoxic drugs, which are not capable of
selective accumulation in neoplastic lesions. Conjugation to tumor-specific antibodies and small
molecules has been proposed as a strategy to enhance the therapeutic index of potent cytotoxic
payloads. In this talk, the successful application of DNA-encoded chemical libraries to develop anticancer small molecule-drug conjugates and radio-ligand therapeutics will be presented.

19:15 Presentation to be Announced
19:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:45 Close of Engineering Antibodies & Beyond Conference

18:15 Exploring Non-Canonical Disulfide in Rabbit Antibody: Developability, Structure,and Engineering
Wei-Ching Liang, PhD, Staff Scientist, Antibody Engineering, Genentech, Inc.
The frequent occurrence of non-canonical disulfide bond found between CDRH1 (C35a) and CDRH2(C50) of rabbit antibodies can pose challenges for therapeutic development, with stability being oneof the primary concerns. In my presentation, I will delve into the topics of developability, functionality,
structural insights, and engineering approaches coupled with sequence- and ML-guided optimisation forthis disulfide bond in one of our newly-discovered cross-reactive anti-PD-1 rabbit antibodies.

18:45 Development of a Novel Antibody-Based Oral Factor VIII Mimetic Drug
Candidate (Inno8)
Jais R. Bjelke, PhD, Principal Scientist, Global Research, Novo Nordisk AS
Introducing Inno8, a pioneering oral Factor VIII (FVIII)-mimetic haemophilia drug candidate based on
VHH modality. Developed through innovative engineering, Inno8 offers unprecedented FVIII co-factor
mimicking activity, with improved pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability as a breakthrough invention.
Thus, this first-in-class antibody-based oral drug modality presents a transformative approach, not only

MEDIA PARTNERSSPONSORING SOCIETIESLEAD SPONSORING PUBLICATIONS

12 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

SPONSORING PUBLICATIONSMEDIA PARTNER

ENGINEERING STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 2
Demonstrating Value and Putting Theory into PracticeThursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ADVANCED AI TECHNIQUES FOR ANTIBODY ENGINEERING &DEVELOPMENT
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Enkelejda Miho, PhD, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland;Managing Director, aiNET

8:30 Artificial Intelligence Supports Antibody Discovery in Dengue
Enkelejda Miho, PhD, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland;Managing Director, aiNET
Dengue virus poses a serious threat to global health and there is no specific therapeutic for it. The
antibody response in dengue infection and immunisation can be deconvoluted with high-throughput
sequencing and artificial intelligence methods. Machine learning applied to sequencing data identifies
rare and underrepresented dengue-specific antibodies.

9:00 Enhancing Antibody Language Models with Structural Information
Jake D. Galson, PhD, Vice President, Technology, Alchemab Therapeutics
The central tenet of molecular biology is that a protein’s amino acid sequence determines its threedimensional structure, and thus its function. Here, we propose contrastive sequence-structure pretraining (CSSP) to amalgamate the representations of antibody sequences and structures in a mutual
latent space. Integrating structural information leads both antibody and protein language models to
produce sequence representations that better correspond with structural similarity, improved binding
prediction accuracy, and data efficiency.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

INNOVATIONS IN HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING, OPTIMISATION,
AND ML-DRIVEN SUCCESS PREDICTIONS
10:44 Chairperson’s Remarks
M. Frank Erasmus, PhD, Head, Bioinformatics, Specifica, Inc.

13 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

10:45 Multi-Modal Learning of Protein Properties
Tunca Dogan, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and AI Engineering, Hacettepe University,
TurkeyThe identification of the specific functions of each protein is essential for understanding the underlying
mechanisms of life and developing novel treatments against deadly diseases. Large language models(LLMs) have emerged as a reliable tool for uncovering hidden knowledge in sequence-based data. In
this seminar, I’ll present our work on protein foundation models, which employ LLMs and other deeplearning architectures to embed proteins in high-dimensional vector spaces.

11:15 Deep Learning for Expression Construct Optimisation
Carlos Outeiral, PhD, Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Research Fellow, Department of Statistics,
University of Oxford
Optimising the yield of protein expression experiments is a key challenge in increasing the efficiencyof biologics manufacturing. In this talk, I will discuss some of the contributions that the Oxford Protein
Informatics Group has made in building deep learning algorithms that can model and optimise protein
expression yield.

11:45 Machine Learning–Driven Design and Optimisation of Antibodies
Lin Li, PhD, Senior Staff Member, Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The design and discovery of early-stage antibody therapeutics is time- and cost-intensive. I will
present an end-to-end machine learning-driven single-chain variable fragments (scFv) design
framework that uniquely combines large language models, Bayesian optimisation, and high-throughput
experimentation. The method enables rapid and cost-effective design of thousands of scFvs across allcomplementary determining regions. The designed antibodies exhibit strong binding affinities, at highlevels of diversity, to a given antigen.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Maria Wendt, PhD, Global Head and Vice President, Digital and Biologics Strategy and Innovation, Sanofi

14:00 Expanding Diversity for Synthetic Antibody Epitope and Affinity Prediction Using
Multiple Round Enrichment Campaigns
Laura P. Spector, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist, Bioinformatics, Specifica Inc.
Robust datasets are essential for efficient training of machine learning algorithms, particularly in thecontext of affinity and epitope prediction. We have developed an iterative selection strategy for yeast
equilibrium sorting paired with NGS that promotes recovery of antibody sequences with broad ranges of

ENGINEERING STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 2
Demonstrating Value and Putting Theory into Practiceparatopes and affinities. Coupling these outputs with high-throughput functional screening assays has
the potential to yield broadly distributed, validated sequences, ideal for model training.

16:40 Modular Binding Proteins: Combining Machine Learning, Structural Biology, andExperimental Evolution

CUTTING-EDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN DE NOVO DESIGN FROMSEQUENCE & STRUCTURE

Andreas G. Plueckthun, PhD, Professor & Head, Biochemistry, University of Zurich
We challenge the paradigm of selection from large universal libraries to obtain binding proteins rapidly
and efficiently. For linear epitopes, we found it to be possible to exploit the periodicity of peptide bonds
and create a completely modular system, based on a binding protein design that shares the same
periodicity. To reach selective and sequence-specific binding, we found it advantageous to combine
machine learning, structural biology, and experimental evolution.

14:30 Designing Protein with Language Models
Ali Madani, PhD, Founder and CEO, Profluent Bio
Large language models (LLMs) learn powerful representations of protein sequence and structural data.
In this talk, we will dive into frontier LLMs that can generate whole gene editors in scratch and push theboundaries of generalisation in antibody design.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS
15:30 Interactive Discussions
Interactive Discussions are informal, moderated discussions, allowing participants to exchange ideas
and experiences and develop future collaborations around a focused topic. Each discussion will be led
by a facilitator who keeps the discussion on track and the group engaged. To get the most out of thisformat, please come prepared to share examples from your work, be a part of a collective, problemsolving session, and participate in active idea sharing. Please visit the Interactive Discussions page on
the conference website for a complete listing of topics and descriptions.

IN-PERSON ONLY BREAKOUT: Machine Learning for MHC Peptide Presentation andAntibody Immunogenicity Prediction
Mojtaba Haghighatlari, PhD, Senior Machine Learning Scientist, Pfizer Inc.
• Novel deep learning approaches for predicting MHC antigen presentation and the modeling challenges• Interpretability and explainability of the available deep learning models• Best practices in data preparation for machine learning of peptidomics datasets• Antibody design by transitioning from peptide presentation to protein screening

CUTTING-EDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN DE NOVO DESIGN FROMSEQUENCE & STRUCTURE (Cont.)
16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

14 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:10 Controllable Protein Design with Language Models
Noelia Ferruz Capapey, PhD, Group Leader, AI for Protein Design Group, Center for Genomic Regulation(CRG)
I will present the use of conditional language models for the à la carte design of proteins with specificfunctions. I will delve into ProtGPT2, ZymCTRL, and REXzyme protein language models for thegeneration of specific proteins with an increasing level of conditioning. These models have undergone
experimental validation.

17:40 Improving Deep Learning Protein Complex Structure Prediction Using DEEPMSA2
with Huge Metagenomics Data
Yang Zhang, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Institute of Singapore; Department ofBiochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

TARGETS STREAM | 5 NOVEMBERTARGETS
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODY-BASEDCANCER THERAPIES
Driving Breathrough Therapies
Tuesday 5 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

CONDITIONALLY-ACTIVE BIOLOGICS
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Volker Schellenberger, PhD, President & CEO, Amunix

8:30 Azymetric Fc-Based Therapeutic Modalities Enabling Tumour-Restricted Immune Cell
Activation and Engagement
Thomas Spreter Von Kreudenstein, Head, Protein Engineering, Zymeworks
The optimised design, protein engineering, mechanism of activation, and preclinical characterization oftherapeutic strategies supporting (A) tumour localized cytokine activation (ex. ZW270, a conditionallyactivated IL-12) and (B) conditional anti-tumour T cell engagers with simultaneous checkpoint inhibition(ex. PROTECT) will be presented.

9:00 Selectively Targeting VISTA in the Tumor-Microenvironment with SNS-101, a
Conditionally Active Monoclonal Antibody
Edward van der Horst, PhD, CSO, Sensei Bio
SNS-101, a novel, conditionally-active antibody, specifically targets the VISTA checkpoint in the acidic
tumor microenvironment to enhance anti-tumour immunity and overcome resistance to checkpoint
inhibitors. It overcomes previous safety and PK challenges, showing potential in combating immune
checkpoint inhibitor resistance, as evidenced in preclinical studies (Thisted et al. Nat. Comm 2024).
Currently in Phase I (NCT05864144), SNS-101 has shown selectivity for active VISTA, mitigating TMDD
and reducing CRS risks.

9:30 Chain-Exchange and Split-Protein Technologies for the Generation of Targeted
Antibody and Cytokine Prodrugs
Vedran Vasic, PhD, Scientist, Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche
We have designed antibody chain-exchange and chain-complementation approaches that can be used
to generate conditionally active antibody prodrugs. The underlying principle is based on antibodymediated targeting of two separate inactive entities, which results in the generation of functional bi- or
multi-specific antibody derivatives upon accumulation on target cells. Examples that will be presented
include prodrug approaches for tumour-activated T cell engagers and conditionally active antibodycytokine fusions.

10:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:15 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
15 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

ANTIBODY-BASED CELL THERAPIES
11:15 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Design and Engineering of TCR-Based
Immune Cell Engagers for Solid Tumour Indications
Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics AG
Soluble TCRs are a promising therapeutic modality combining intracellular antigen
targeting with favourable infiltration of solid tumours and off-the-shelf use. Despite their
therapeutic potential, the development of soluble TCR immune cell engagers is complicatedby multiple challenges relating to affinity, specificity, molecular format, and stability. Here
we describe AI-guided protein engineering as an effective approach to address soluble TCR
development challenges and deliver potent and safe picomolar affinity clinical candidates.

11:45 Overcoming the Challenges with Raising Antibodies against STEAP2 Extracellular
Domains for Targeted CAR T Cell Therapy
Dewald van Dyk, PhD, Associate Director, Biologics Engineering, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate-2 (STEAP2) is a complex membrane protein that is
highly expressed on prostate cancer cells with limited distal normal tissue expression. High species
homology and small extracellular domains makes STEAP2 a very challenging protein to target. I will
share reflections on the multifaceted discovery campaigns that enabled the isolation of STEAP2specific antibodies for the development of an armored STEAP2 chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Talk Title to be Announced
John Kenney, President, Antibody Solutions

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

OVERCOMING EFFICACY AND TOXICITY CHALLENGES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics AG

13:50 4-1BB T Cell Engaging BsAb (Grabody T) Activated T Cells Only in the Tumour
Microenvironment and Demonstrated Superior Efficacy and Safety Profile
Sang Hoon Lee, PhD, CEO & Founder, ABL Bio Inc.
Stimulation of 4-1BB with agonistic antibodies is a promising strategy for immunotherapy. However,hepatotoxicity was observed in clinical trials with 4-1BB agonistic antibodies due to the activation of
4-1BB in liver cells. To avoid liver toxicity, we developed a novel BsAb, Grabody T by activating 4-1BB in
the presence of TAA within the tumor microenvironment. We will present the preclinical and Phase 1
data of multiple Grabody T based BsAbs.

TARGETS STREAM | 5 NOVEMBERTARGETS
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODY-BASEDCANCER THERAPIES
Driving Breathrough Therapies

14:20 Immune Cell Engaging Bispecific Antibodies: Optimising Human Dose andDosing Regimen
Renu Singh, PhD, Director & Head, DMPK, Aurigene Oncology
The bispecific immune cell engaging antibodies have shown great promise both preclinically andclinically; however, finding right balance of efficacy and safety is very pivotal for clinical successof these bispecifics. Various considerations have to be taken into account for optimising clinicaldose, particularly species differences in target expression, target cell population, target biology. The
presentation will showcase challenges in optimisation of human dose of bispecific immune cell
engager antibodies.

14:50 First-in-Human (FIH) Dose Selection for Biologic Modalities
Celine Amara, Project Expert, DMPK, SanofiFirst-in-Human Dose Selection is a key consideration in the drug development of new drug candidates.
Such estimation is essential for the design of successful Phase 1 clinical trials. FIH dose is based on
the Regulatory requirements, and the strategy differs depending on the modality. This presentation
provides insights of challenges of the FIH dose estimation for 3 biologic molecules, i.e., a Monoclonal
Ab, an Antibody-Drug Conjugate, and an innovative Multispecific.

15:20 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

NOVEL TARGETS
16:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:05 Fucosyl-GM1: A Versatile Target for SCLC Therapy
Mireille Vankemmelbeke, PhD, Principal Scientist, Biodiscovery, Scancell, Ltd.
SCLC patients are faced with limited treatment options. T cell redirecting antibodies have shown great
promise in liquid tumours while ADC modalities have already delivered therapeutic benefit, but carefultarget selection is warranted for both. The tumour selectivity of the SCLC-associated glycolipid fucosylGM1, its expression being virtually absent in normal tissues, combined with evidence of functionality
across two modalities open the door additional targeted treatment options for SCLC patients.

17:35 The Identification of VNAR Theranostics Targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein
Aaron M. LeBeau, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology & Lab Medicine, University of Wisconsin Madison
Through the direct immunization of a nurse shark, we identified a suite of VNARs that were able toimage FAP-expressing cells in vivo by PET imaging and eliminate them when coupled to cytotoxins.
Using NGS, we developed a phylogenetic tree that allowed us to identify candidate VNARs withfavorable targeting properties. We also determined the cryo-EM structures of several VNARs bound to
FAP that demonstrated novel modes of target engagement.

16 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

18:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Antibody-Based Cancer Therapies Conference

TARGETS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERTARGETS
8TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

EMERGING TARGETS AND
THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Hitting the Targets
Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

TARGETS OF ONCOLOGY IMMUNE RESPONSE
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Marie-Eve Beaulieu, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Drug Development, Peptomyc SL

8:30 A First-in-Class Therapeutic Approach to Induce Tertiary Lymphoid Structures (TLS) in
Solid Tumours to Generate Powerful Anti-Tumour Immune Responses
Marta Lewandowska, PhD, Program Lead, Discovery, Mestag Therapeutics
Mestag is developing a first-in-class antibody-based therapeutic that conditionally induces TLS insolid tumours. The presence of TLS is strongly correlated with survival and response to treatment andhave recently been recognized as important drivers of anti-tumour immunity. Acting as local lymph
nodes, TLS are inducible immunological powerhouses that rapidly recruit, activate, and educate antitumour immune cells.

9:00 Myeloid vs. Lymphoid in Immuno-Oncology? IOMX-0675 Elegantly Unites Myeloid
Repolarisation and T&NK Cell Activation
Simone Friedrich, PhD, Head, Antibody Discovery & Development, iOmx Therapeutics
IOMX-0675, a fully human, cross-specific antibody recognising both LILRB1 and LILRB2, was identified
from iOmx’s proprietary phage display library. Selective binding, with high affinity to the inhibitory
receptors LILRB1 and LILRB2, while only weakly recognising the closely-related immune activating LILR
family members LILRA1 and LILRA3, allows potent reprogramming of the immunosuppressive myeloid
compartment and restoration of cytotoxic T cell activity in the tumour microenvironment.

9:30 Targeting Undruggable Targets and the Identifiying of Potential Biomarkers
Marie-Eve Beaulieu, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Drug Development, Peptomyc SL
MYC has so far remained a most wanted but undruggable target in oncology. OMO-103 is the first
intravenously delivered cell-penetrating mini-protein to have successfully overcome the challenges todrug MYC and completed a clinical trial in human patients showing safety and first signs of clinicalactivity, supported by molecular target engagement. Here, we present the preclinical development andresults from this first-in-human clinical study.

10:00 Innovative Platforms for Producing Mini Proteins & T Cell Related
Therapeutic Targets
Jiansheng Wu, Vice President, WuXi Biologics USA LLC
Mini proteins and T cell-related proteins are getting more tractions as new modalities of biologic
drug. We present two innovative platforms for their production. The Mini Protein Line innovates

17 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

beyond traditional E. coli methods, utilizing high-titer CHO expression for enhanced HTP mammalian
expression and extra-low endotoxin level. Our T Cell Mate efficiently produces challenging T-cell-related
proteins like sTCR, TCR-Ab fusions, SCT, and RF-pMHC, ensuring high throughput and yields, critical fortherapeutic protein advancement.

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

TARGETS OF ONCOLOGY IMMUNE RESPONSE (CONT.)
11:15 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Aplitabart, an Anti-DR-5 IgM Antibody for
Treatment of Colorectal Carcinoma
Bruce Keyt, PhD, CSO, R&D, IGM Biosciences, Inc.
This talk will discuss the importance of valency and epitope for mechanism of action.
Significant synergy in combination with chemotherapy will be addressed. A case study of dose
escalation and randomised clinical trials in colorectal carcinoma will also be discussed.

11:45 Developing Best-in-Class Antiviral Antibodies from Human Antibody Repertoires—
Case Studies on BKV and CMV Lead Programs
Simone Schmitt, PhD, Vice President, Technology & Operations, Memo Therapeutics AG
In this presentation updates of the virological lead programs BKV and CMV are given. The Dropzylla
technology employs a high-throughput microfluidic platform for the cloning of human cognate antibody
repertoires. The recombinant repertoires were the basis for the selection of best-in-class neutralising
antibodies against virological targets.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Next-Generation Models to Predict theClinical PK of Candidate Therapeutic Antibodies
Elena Gonzalo Gil, Associate Director, Pre-Clinical Services • In Vivo Services, The Jackson Laboratory
To develop predictive in vivo models for antibody PK studies, The Jackson Laboratory createdtransgenic humanized mouse models by replacing the mouse FcRn with its human counterpart andincorporating additional genetic modifications. These models were validated for the assessment of theclinical half-life of WT and Fc-modified antibodies. This humanized platform is valuable for selecting
promising leads and predicting the clinical PK parameters of therapeutic antibody candidates.

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

TARGETS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERTARGETS
8TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

EMERGING TARGETS AND
THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Hitting the Targets

EMERGING TARGETS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

Ahuva Nissim, PhD, Professor, Antibody and Therapeutic Engineering, William Harvey Research Institute,
Queen Mary University of London

13:50 Tolerogenic APC-Targeted Vaccibody Vaccines Treat Disease in Mouse Models ofExperimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis and Non-Obese Diabetes

15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights

Agnete Fredriksen, PhD, Chief Business Officer & Co-Founder, Nykode Therapeutics
Autoimmune diseases now affect about one in ten individuals and represent an increasing, unmet
need. Nykode Therapeutics has developed an inverse vaccine platform that targets antigens directly toantigen presenting cells using a modular dimeric protein format known as a Vaccibody. Vaccibodies
deliver a tolerogenic response toward disease-associated autoantigens which alleviate disease in theExperimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis model and in Non-Obese Diabetic mice either alone or
combined with immune-modulatory proteins.

15:55 ADC Highlights

14:20 Post-Translationally Modified Insulin as Neoantigen and Therapeutic Target in
Type 1 Diabetes
Rocky Strollo, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Endocrinology, San Raffaele University of Rome
The presentation aims to summarise the role of neoepitopes induced by oxidative post-translational
modifications of insulin and other beta cell antigens in the pathogenesis of type 1 (autoimmune)
diabetes. The relevance of beta cell neoantigens as therapeutic targets and the development of specificautoantibody biomarkers as diagnostic tools will be discussed.

Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

14:50 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

18 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody

TARGETS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERTARGETS
8TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

EMERGING TARGETS AND
THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Hitting the Targets

Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.

18:45 Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases with Antibodies Discovered from
Resilient Individuals

Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

David Yadin, PhD, Principal Scientist, Research, Alchemab Therapeutics
At Alchemab we are pursuing a unique patient-centred approach to the discovery of novel drug
targets, with a focus on hard-to-treat neurodegenerative diseases. We have discovered protective
auto-antibodies in patients resilient to disease that are now being developed into therapeutics. This
presentation will highlight a case study from one of our lead programs, from antibody and target
discovery through to development.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

EMERGING TARGETS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NONONCOLOGY DISEASES
17:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:45 Autoantibody Regulation of the DNA-Degrading Enzyme DNASE1L3 in Autoimmune
Rheumatic Diseases
Gregory C. Ippolito, PhD, Associate Professor, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
DNASE1L3 is a critical gatekeeper of tolerance to self-DNA. Multiple human genetic studies haveidentified null mutations in DNASE1L3 in families with early-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Antibodies that block DNASE1L3 activity represent a recently described and novel type of autoreactivity
in severe SLE. Blocking anti-DNASE1L3 antibodies have also been reported in other autoimmune
diseases, namely hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggesting they may be
relevant beyond SLE.

18:15 Pulmonary Infectious Disease and Emerging Targets—What Is New and Novel?
Mathieu Cinier, PhD, Scientific Director & CSO, Affilogic
The past five years have shown pressure on the development of therapeutic platforms enabling both
rapid drug candidate generation and broad-spectrum activity to minimise treatment escape upon
adaptation of the pathogens. We have been demonstrating that the Nanofitin alternative scaffold
generation platform allows for the generation of therapeutic candidates of high neutralisation potential
in roughly 100 days, and can be amenable to local treatment in the case of pulmonary diseases.

19 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

19:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:45 Close of Emerging Targets and Therapeutic Approaches Conference

TARGETS STREAM | 7 NOVEMBERTARGETS
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODIES AGAINST MEMBRANE
PROTEIN TARGETS

New Strategies and Technologies to Accelerate the Development of
Biotherapeutics Against Complex GPCR and Ion Channel Targets
Thursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

for antigen presentation. In this talk, I will explore various methods for the generation of complex
transmembrane proteins with a focus on the application of different antigen platforms for
antibody discovery.

EMERGING MODALITIES FOR MEMBRANE PROTEIN TARGETS

11:15 Optimising SMALP Selection for Membrane Protein Research

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Corey Smith, PhD, Principal Research Scientist, Global Biologics Protein Science, AbbVie

8:30 Targeted Degradation of Membrane Proteins Using SureTACs Technology
Madelon Maurice, PhD, Professor, Molecular Cell Biology, University of Utrecht; Scientific Founder andScientific Lead, Laigo Bio
We have pioneered a novel technology using heterobifunctional antibodies (SureTACs: surface
removal targeting chimeras) for the degradation of membrane proteins. SureTACs induce proximityof a transmembrane E3 ligase and a cell surface target protein, resulting in the ubiquitination andinternalisation and lysosomal degradation of the target. Advantages of SureTAC technology compared
to conventional antagonising antibodies include reduced off-target toxicity, improved tissue specificity,and the possibility to target currently undruggable proteins.

9:00 Synthetic Antibodies as Sensors and Allosteric Modulators of GPCR Signaling
Arun K. Shukla, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences & Bioengineering, Indian Institute ofTechnology, Kanpur
G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a large family of cell surface receptors with intricate
roles in cellular physiology, and they represent a major class of drug targets. This presentation will befocused on our recent efforts to develop and characterise antibody-based sensors to elucidate novel
paradigms of transducer-coupling and activation of GPCRs, and engineer intrabody-based allostericmodulators of downstream GPCR-signaling in cellular context with potential therapeutic relevance.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

ANTIGEN STRATEGIES
10:45 Comparative Evaluation of Antigen Format Performance with Different
Antibody Platforms
Corey Smith, PhD, Principal Research Scientist, Global Biologics Protein Science, AbbVie
Generation of therapeutic antibodies to transmembrane protein targets in a properly folded andpresented form can be very challenging. cDNA, soluble antigens (extracellular domains), as well as
evolving platforms like virus-like particles and nanodiscs all have advantages and disadvantages

20 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

Tim Dafforn, PhD, Professor, Biotechnology, University of Birmingham
Maintaining membrane protein targets in their native state is a crucial part of any drug discovery
campaign. The relatively recent development of extraction systems that protect and preserve themembrane environment around membrane proteins has gone a long way to supporting the native state.
In this talk I will show an extensive study of the SMA-based extraction system showing a novel highthroughput method that accelerates SMA selection.

11:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Computational Design of Membrane
Protein Structures, Functions, and Therapeutics
Patrick Barth, PhD, Associate Professor, Protein and Cell Engineering, EPFL
Membrane receptors trigger critical cellular functions upon sensing various
extracellular stimuli and are associated with numerous diseases. We are developing
computational approaches integrating protein design, molecular dynamics simulations, anddeep-learning interpretation of protein motions to uncover the biophysical underpinnings ofmembrane protein functions. Using these techniques, we are reprogramming the functions of
natural receptors and designing biosensors and ligands for basic, synthetic cell biology andtherapeutic applications.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

TARGETS STREAM | 7 NOVEMBERTARGETS
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODIES AGAINST MEMBRANE
PROTEIN TARGETS

New Strategies and Technologies to Accelerate the Development of
Biotherapeutics Against Complex GPCR and Ion Channel Targets
DISCOVERY STRATEGIES FOR TARGETING
TRANSMEMBRANE PROTEINS

16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks

Anna M. Mann, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Blocking the ATP-gated P2X7 ion channel ameliorates inflammatory diseases and cancer in animalmodels. We generated nanobodies that modify P2X7 gating. Cryo-EM analysis revealed the mechanismof-action of these robust single immunoglobulin domains. A single injection of nanobody-encoding
AAV vectors blocks P2X7 for weeks, ameliorating colon cancer. We further used these nanobodies
as targeting ligands by insertion into the AAV capsid to target P2X7-expressing endothelial cells inkidney inflammation.

Jenny Mattsson, PhD, Principal Scientist, Preclinical Research, BioInvent International AB

14:00 Selective Engagement of Insulin Receptor Isoforms with Synthetic Miniproteins
Benjamin J. Hackel, PhD, Professor, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota
Insulin receptor isoform A, uniquely expressed in tumours unlike the ubiquitously-expressed isoform
B, is a compelling breast cancer target. Selective isoform engagement is challenged by homology
and structural constraints resulting from epitope/membrane proximity. We leveraged our synthetic
miniprotein platform—with efficient evolution of high-affinity, selective binding, robust developability,
and a variety of topologies and paratope architectures to engage distinct epitopes—to engineer
subnanomolar, isoform-selective binders.

14:30 Creating Ion-Channel Modulating Antibodies by Fusing Cysteine-Rich Miniproteins
into Antibody CDR Loops
John D. McCafferty, PhD, CTO and Founder, Maxion Therapeutics
Ion channels are an important target class which are underserved by biologics. Maxion have shownthat small cys-rich peptides with ion-channel modulating activity can be inserted into antibody CDRs
while retaining their function. The resulting molecules modulate ion-channel activity while benefittingfrom the optimal drug-like properties of antibodies. This presentation will illustrate the generation andoptimisation of KnotBody inhibitors to therapeutically relevant ion-channel targets.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS
15:30 Interactive Discussions
Interactive Discussions are informal, moderated discussions, allowing participants to exchange ideas
and experiences and develop future collaborations around a focused topic. Each discussion will be led
by a facilitator who keeps the discussion on track and the group engaged. To get the most out of thisformat, please come prepared to share examples from your work, be a part of a collective, problemsolving session, and participate in active idea sharing. Please visit the Interactive Discussions page on
the conference website for a complete listing of topics and descriptions.

IN-PERSON ONLY BREAKOUT: Avoiding Roadblocks: Maneuvering the Challenges ofDifficult Targets
Ross Chambers, PhD, Vice President, Antibody Discovery, Integral Molecular, Inc.

21 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

16:40 Structure, Function, and Use of P2X7-Blocking and Non-Blocking Nanobodies

17:10 Discovery Strategies for Antibodies Targeting Complex Multi-Spanning
Membrane Proteins
Trevor Wilkinson, PhD, Director, Biologics Engineering, AstraZeneca
Integral membrane proteins with complex multi-spanning topologies provide significant opportunities
for development of therapeutic antibodies. Examples of these proteins include GPCRs, ion channels,
transporters, adhesion molecules, and tumour-associated antigens. Whilst discovery of antibodies
to these targets is regarded as challenging, strategies are emerging enabling antigen generation todrive discovery efforts. This presentation provides case studies highlighting discovery of antibodies to
GPCRs, ion channels, and a tumour-associated antigen.

17:40 Identifying Novel Membrane Protein-Specific Antibodies by PredictionBased Discovery
Jenny Mattsson, PhD, Principal Scientist, Preclinical Research, BioInvent International AB
To enable the identification of novel antibodies targeting cell membrane proteins, we used a
combination of whole-cell panning, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatics. Antibody
sequences encoding specificity for membrane proteins were identified using mathematical modelingbased prediction of antibody enrichment during panning. Using this approach, we identified a diverse
pool of membrane protein-targeting antibodies for phenotypic, function-first discovery.

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF MULTISPECIFIC
ANTIBODIES, ADCs, AND COMBINATION THERAPIES
Enhancing Safety and Creating Synergies for Novel Therapeutic Modalities
Tuesday 5 November

OPTIMISING EFFICACY OF T CELL ENGAGERS

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

11:14 Chairperson’s Remarks

PRECLINICAL SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF BISPECIFIC ANTIBODIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Marjolein van Egmond, PhD, Professor, Oncology and Inflammation, Surgery/Molecular Cell Biology and
Immunology, Amsterdam UMC

8:30 Bispecific Antibody Immunocytokines to Recruit Neutrophils as Effector Cells in
Cancer Therapy
Marjolein van Egmond, PhD, Professor, Oncology and Inflammation, Surgery/Molecular Cell Biology and
Immunology, Amsterdam UMC
Antibody-based immunotherapy is a promising strategy in cancer treatment. IgG eliminates tumour
cells through NK cell-mediated ADCC and macrophage-mediated antibody-dependent phagocytosis.
Neutrophils have been largely overlooked as potential effector cells, because IgG ineffectively recruits
neutrophils. Bispecific antibodies, which potently activate neutrophils and induce migration throughFcaRI have been developed. Coupling of cytokines or chemokines further recruits neutrophils aseffector cells, which will be discussed.

9:00 The Use of an ex vivo Human Blood Model (ID.Flow) to Instruct Selection and Perform
Characterisation of Novel Antibody Formats
Sara M. Mangsbo, PhD, Professor, Pharmacy, Uppsala University
Human model systems are highly important in instructing the selection of antibody design for efficacy
parameters and providing safety information. I will provide drug candidate examples of how the ID.Flow
system, a system based on fresh human whole blood in circulation, can enable analyses of cellularbiodistribution, target and off-target engagement, effector cell analyses, cytokine release risks, antibody
uptake, and evaluation of interactions with complement and coagulation proteins.

9:30 Cis-targeted Immunocytokines: Engineered IL-15 Cytokine Muteins Fused to AntiPD-1 Antibodies
Javier Chaparro-Riggers, PhD, Executive Director, BioMedicine Design, Pfizer Inc.
The use of cytokines for immunotherapy shows clinical efficacy but is frequently accompanied bysevere adverse events caused by excessive and systemic immune activation. These challenges wereaddressed by engineering a fusion protein of a single, potency-reduced, IL15 mutein to a PD1-specificantibody. This cis-delivered cytokine allows for cell specific targeting and lead to CD8 T cell-dependent
antitumor efficacy without exacerbating body weight loss in syngeneic tumor models.

10:00 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
22 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Mark L. Chiu, PhD, CSO, Tavotek Biotherapeutics

11:15 Mechanisms of Resistance to Bispecific T Cell Engagers in Multiple Myeloma
Eric Letouzé, PhD, Team Leader, Integrated Cancer Genomics, INSERM
Bispecific T cell engagers (TCE) were recently approved for relapsed/refractory multiple myelomas.
Yet, primary resistance occurs in one third of patients, and most responders eventually develop
acquired resistance. Through a multi-omics single-cell characterization of resistant cases, we
uncovered various mechanisms of resistance to TCE. Molecular analysis of target antigens will be
key to select the most appropriate TCE for each patient, and to design combination and sequencing
immunotherapy strategies.

11:34 Trispecific T Cell Engagers Incorporating Conditional CD28 Co-Stimulation (TriTCE
Co-Stim) to Improve Treatment Responses in Oncology
Nina E. Weisser, PhD, Director, Multispecific Antibody Therapeutics, Zymeworks, Inc.
The optimised design and differentiated mechanism of action, enhanced antitumour activity, and safetyof TriTCE Co-Stim antibodies compared to conventional bispecific T cell engagers will be presented.

11:54 Engineering TCR-Based Soluble Therapeutics: Case Study of IMC-R117C for theTreatment of Colorectal Cancer
Nicole Mai, PhD, Principal Research Scientist I, Protein Science, Immunocore
ImmTAC molecules are bispecific T cell engagers utilising engineered T cell receptors (TCRs) to targetand kill tumour cells. Here, we present development of IMC-R117C, an ImmTAC targeting a peptide fromPIWIL1, a novel colorectal cancer target, presented on HLA-A2. Once the optimal weak affinity TCR was
identified, its specificity profile was determined and engineering approaches were applied to improve
molecule affinity whilst minimising off-target binding, ensuring high ImmTAC efficacy and specificity.

12:14 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Advancing Antibody and CAR T Therapies
towards IND: Specificity Profiling Using the Membrane Proteome Array
Rachel Fong, Director of Sales & Alliances, Integral Molecular
Assessment of off-target antibody reactivity is a regulatory requirement for clinical development;
however, conventional screening methods are often ineffective in screening newer therapeuticmodalities including cell therapies. We will present the Membrane Proteome Array (MPA), a
6,000-protein cell-array for specificity screening, that provides a comprehensive approach to rapidly
identify off-target protein-protein interactions. We will present case studies describing its successful inregulatory filings and discuss its ongoing development as a qualified Drug Development Tool.

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF MULTISPECIFIC
ANTIBODIES, ADCs, AND COMBINATION THERAPIES
Enhancing Safety and Creating Synergies for Novel Therapeutic Modalities
SAFETY AND EFFICACY IN EARLY CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Elisa Fontana, MD, PhD, Oncologist and Medical Director, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK

13:50 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Understanding, Predicting, and Mitigating
Toxicities with ADCs and Bispecifics
Elisa Fontana, MD, PhD, Oncologist and Medical Director, Sarah Cannon
Research Institute UK
Bispecific antibodies, ADCs and bispecific ADCs are rapidly moving from clinical development tostandard of care. Some expected toxicities related to antibody fragments and target epitopes arein common, some others are specifically related to payload in case of ADCs and direct immunecell engagement in case of a sub-class of bispecifics. On-target and off-target toxicities, timelines
of expected toxicities, and mitigation strategies will be reviewed.

14:20 ADC Efficacy, Combinations With Novel Agents, and Mechanisms of ResistanceAntonio Marra, MD, Medical Oncologist, IEO Istituto Europeo di Oncologia?Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have shown remarkable clinical efficacy, resulting in improved
outcomes for several tumours. Resistance to ADCs can arise through various mechanisms,
necessitating the development of strategies to counteract these resistance pathways. Innovative
approaches to overcoming resistance include optimising linker stability, developing next-generation
ADCs with novel payloads, employing bispecific antibodies, and using combination therapies to target
multiple pathways concurrently, thereby enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of ADCs.

14:50 Multispecific Antibodies and CAR T in Solid Tumours
Maria de Miguel, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, Clinical Investigator; Associate Director, START Early Phase
Clinical Trial Program, Hospital Universitario HM Sanchinarro
Recent multispecific antibodies and CAR T are being designed to target multiple antigens
simultaneously, and offer a promising approach to overcome tumour escape mechanisms and enhanceanti-tumour efficacy. These molecules can bridge tumour cells and immune effector cells, thereby
promoting a robust and targeted immune response. Moreover, multispecific antibodies may have a role
improving tumour penetration and mitigating on-target, off-tumour toxicity.

15:20 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
16:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

23 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:05 Novel ADC Targets in Solid Tumours
Oriol Mirallas, MD, Medical Oncologist, Drug Development, Phase I Unit, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology(VHIO)
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a rapidly evolving therapeutic modality in oncology,
leveraging the specificity of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cytotoxic agents directly to tumor cells. Bytargeting tumor-specific antigens, ADCs aim to maximize efficacy while minimizing off-target toxicity.
Recent advancements in ADC technology, including novel linker chemistries and potent cytotoxic
payloads, have improved therapeutic indices and broadened their applicability to various malignancies.

17:35 PANEL DISCUSSION: Recent Successes and Challenges of Bispecifics, ADCs, andCombination Therapies
Moderator: Elisa Fontana, MD, PhD, Oncologist and Medical Director, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK
This panel discussion will review recent success and challenges of bispecific antibodies, ADCs, andcombination therapies. The panelists will look at which ADCs and bispecifics met the standard of careor not, and some of the reasons why therapies failed Phase 3 trials after promising results in earlier
phase studies.
Panelists:
Maria de Miguel, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, Clinical Investigator; Associate Director, START Early Phase
Clinical Trial Program, Hospital Universitario HM Sanchinarro
Antonio Marra, MD, Medical Oncologist, IEO Istituto Europeo di Oncologia
Oriol Mirallas, MD, Medical Oncologist, Drug Development, Phase I Unit, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology(VHIO)

18:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Safety and Efficacy of Multispecific Antibodies, ADCs, and Combination
Therapies Conference

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
16TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ADVANCING MULTISPECIFICS AND
COMBINATION THERAPY TO THE CLINIC
Novel and Synergistic Combinations
Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

making it an attractive target for CD3 bsAbs. This presentation will discuss the preclinical developmentof DuoBody-CD3-H101GxB7H4, which is currently being investigated in a first-in-human clinical trial(NCT05180474).

NEXT-GENERATION BI- AND MULTISPECIFIC ANTIBODIES

10:00 Presentation to be Announced

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Paul Parren, PhD, CSO, Gyes; Professor, Molecular Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center

8:30 Bi- and Multispecific Antibody Design Aspects Through Understanding ParatopeEpitope Interactions
Steffen H.J. Goletz, PhD, Full Professor, Deputy Head, Vice Director, Biotechnology & Biomedicine, Danish
Technical University
Learnings from computational analysis of > 850,000 atom-atom contacts from >1800 structurally
elucidated antibody-antigen complexes and >11000 functional antibodies will be presented andtheir impact for bi-and multispecific antibody design and the generation of novel in-silico designed
humanized single-domain antibody phage display libraries with maximal functional diversity for
generating fusion partners.

9:00 Bispecific and Trispecific T Cell Engagers for the Treatment of
Hematological Malignancies
Ulrike Philippar, PhD, Senior Director & Head, Oncology & Discovery Hematological Malignancies, Johnson &Johnson Innovative Medicine
Within the past decade, therapies that activate/engage T cells have changed the landscape of treatmentof hematological malignancies. Successful T cell engaging antibodies target antigens selectively
expressed on tumours with minimal/no expression in other tissues and are potent molecules that caneliminate malignant cells, a long-term benefit. Several bispecific T cell engagers have been approved inhematological malignancies. Recent research evaluates multispecific T cell engagers targeting several
tumour-associated antigens.

9:30 Preclinical Development of DuoBody-CD3-H101GxB7H4, a Novel CD3 Bispecific
Antibody for the Treatment of Solid Cancers
Marije Overdijk, PhD, Director, Team Lead Translational Research, Genmab
The choice of an appropriate tumour-specific target and CD3 affinity are important considerations fordeveloping effective and safe CD3 bispecific antibodies (bsAbs). Immune checkpoint protein B7H4
shows high expression in various solid cancers, while expression is low or absent in normal tissues,

24 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

KEYNOTE FIRESIDE CHAT: The Science and Business ofBispecific Antibodies
11:15 PANEL DISCUSSION
Moderator: Janine Schuurman, PhD, Biotech Consultant, Lust for Life Science B.V.
In this fireside chat, Ton Logtenberg (formerly Merus) and Bassil Dahiiyat (Xencor) will share theirvast experiences and insights in both the science and business of bi- and multi-specific, the fieldof multifunctional antibody creation and development, and how that impacts company creation.
We’ll explore both scientific and business perspectives, delving into the interface between
innovation, pipeline strategy, and business acumen strategies for building successful companies.
Panelists:
Bassil I. Dahiyat, PhD, CEO, Xencor Inc.
Ton Logtenberg, PhD, Former CEO & Executive Director, Merus NV

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF BISPECIFIC ANTIBODIES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Tariq Ghayur, PhD, Tariq Ghayur Consulting, LLC and Entrepreneur in Residence, FairJourney Biologics®

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
16TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ADVANCING MULTISPECIFICS AND
COMBINATION THERAPY TO THE CLINIC
Novel and Synergistic Combinations
13:50 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Broadly-Reactive Antibody against
Multiple Gluten Peptide, HLA-DQ2.5 Complexes for the Treatment of Celiac
DiseaseTomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
HLA-DQ2.5 presenting gluten peptides to antigen-specific CD4+ T cells plays a critical role inpathogenicity of celiac disease. We have created a TCR-like, neutralizing antibody (DONQ52)
that broadly and specifically recognizes more than twenty-five distinct gluten pHLA-DQ2.5.
Identification, preclinical study, and structural analysis of DONQ52 will be presented.

14:20 High-Throughput Bispecific Antibody Production & Potential Applications within
Discovery Workflows
Charlotte H. Coles, PhD, Team Leader, GSKThis presentation will review current and emerging strategies to facilitate high-throughput bispecificantibody production, before considering their potential application during a biopharmaceutical
discovery campaign. Screening in bispecific format during earlier stages may: i. enable empiricalscreening to identify or prioritise target pairings during target validation stages, ii. widen protein design
space to maximise chances of success, or iii. result in early screening data being more predictive oflead molecule properties.

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

15:55 ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

14:50 Trispecific GPRC5D Antibodies with Potent Cell-Killing Activity against
Multiple Myeloma
Ross Chambers, Vice President of Antibody Discovery, Integral Molecular
GPRC5D is a G protein-coupled receptor expressed on multiple myeloma cells but absent from mosthealthy tissues. Clinical combination data suggest a trispecific molecule targeting GPRC5D, BCMA, andT cells may offer substantial benefits. We leveraged DNA + lipoparticle immunisation, divergent species(chickens), and specificity assessment using the Membrane Proteome Array to generate potent andspecific lead molecules. We will present in vitro and in vivo data for this program.

15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

25 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
16TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ADVANCING MULTISPECIFICS AND
COMBINATION THERAPY TO THE CLINIC
Novel and Synergistic Combinations
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
17:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:45 Discovery and Development of a TGFβ Superfamily Receptor Bispecific Antibody
Agonist Leveraging Experimental and Computational Methods
Melissa Geddie, PhD, Vice President Drug Discovery, Diagonal Therapeutics
Agonistic antibodies present a compelling approach to treating diseases driven by defective signaling
pathways, but their discovery has been severely limited by the difficulty of identifying epitopes thatsuccessfully trigger receptor signaling. Using a combination of experimental and computational
approaches, we successfully generated bispecific agonist antibodies that activate a heteromeric
receptor complex with the objective to treat human vasculopathies. Our approach has shown to be
applicable across diseases and targets.

18:15 Using Bispecific Antibodies to Achieve Targeted Complement Inhibition
Leendert A. Trouw, PhD, Professor, Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center
Complement activation is playing a pathogenic role in several human diseases. The importance ofcomplement in this process is underscored by the successful implementation of complement inhibitory
therapies. However, all these therapies work systemically, while the complement activation is occurring
only locally. Therefore with my team we are developing bispecific antibody based complement
inhibitors that only inhibit locally and leave systemic complement intact to fight infections.

18:45 ATOR-4066: Translating Clinical Success into a 3rd Next-Generation CD40xCEACAM5
Agonistic Neo-X-Prime Bispecific Antibody
Peter Ellmark, PhD, CSO, Alligator Bioscience AB
Data from our Phase 2 clinical data with mitazalimab in first line pancreatic cancer show how CD40
targeting can be a game changer in immuno-oncology. The key learnings have been translated
into the Neo-X-Prime platform with the lead compound ATOR-4066 targeting CD40 and CEACAM5
demonstrating superior anti-tumour activity and a unique mode of action.

26 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

19:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:45 Close of Advancing Multispecifics and Combination Therapy to the Clinic Conference

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
15TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BISPECIFIC
ANTIBODIES
Introducing Novel Functionality and Constructs
Thursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

OVERVIEW
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Stefan Zielonka, PhD, Senior Director, Global Head of Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering (ADPE)
Research & Development, Merck Healthcare KGaA; Professor, Biomolecular Immunotherapy, Technische
Universität Darmstadt

8:30 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: The Present and Future of Bispecific
Antibodies for Cancer Therapy
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED
An increasing number of bispecific antibodies has been approved for therapy, both for thetreatment of cancer and for treatment of non-oncology indications. In this keynote lecture we will
review the status and most prevalent mechanisms of action of bispecific antibodies and provide
an outlook into emerging concepts.

NEXT-GENERATION IMMUNOTHERAPY
9:00 Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy: Next-Generation T Cell Engagers Targeting CLDN6
via CD3/CD137 Binding
Shinya Ishii, Senior Manager, Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
In this study, we developed a novel T cell engager called Dual-Ig that enhances the efficacy of T cellbispecific antibodies by incorporating the co-stimulatory signal CD137. We applied Dual-Ig to an
antibody successfully engineered to have high specificity for CLDN6, despite its similarity to other
CLDNs. Promising preclinical data suggests that this approach may lead to significant therapeuticadvances in the treatment of CLDN6-targeted cancers.

9:30 Seamless Concept to Candidate: GenScript’s cutting-edge Technologies
for Bispecific Development
Amanda Grimm, Sr Segment Marketing Mgr, GenScript USA Inc
Bispecific antibody drug development is a complex process requiring careful consideration of target
biology, mechanism of action, antibody format, and other critical factors. Leveraging advanced
technologies and strategic planning can help navigate these challenges and lead to successful

27 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

therapeutic outcomes. Join Amanda as she discusses GenScript’s integrated technologies that will
support your bispecific design, expression, and assess your developability.

10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
10:45 Bispecific Dendritic-T Cell Engagers
Rony Dahan, PhD, Principal Investigator, Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science
This presentation discusses the pivotal role of dendritic-T cell crosstalk in driving anti-tumor immunityand enhancing immunotherapy. I will highlight our recent studies that led to the development of new
immunotherapies, harnessing dendritic cell-T cell interactions for optimal efficacy.

11:15 Antibody-Mediated Delivery of Viral Epitopes to Redirect Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cells
Willemijn van der Wulp, PhD Student, Labs of Rob Hoeben (Department of Cell and Chemical Biology) andMirjam Heemskerk (Department of Hematology), Leiden University Medical Center
The use of therapeutic antibody-epitope conjugates (AECs) is a new therapeutic strategy for delivery of
immunogenic viral epitopes and redirecting virus-specific CD8+ T cell activity toward cancer cells. The
AECs rely on proteolytic release of these epitopes close to the tumour cell surface for presentation on
HLA Class I molecules. The presentation will cover how we evaluated the potential of these AECs andtheir capacity to redirect EBV-specific T cells.

11:45 Design Meets Biology—Engineering Multispecific Modalities withPotentially Improved TI
Yariv Mazor, PhD, Executive Director, R&D, Biologics Engineering, AstraZeneca
Multispecific antibodies are emerging as a leading class of biological therapeutics. Their capacity
to simultaneously target two or more distinct disease pathways or bridge two different cells opens
attractive new perspectives in terms of efficacy and selectivity that may potentially lead to better drug
safety and an overall improved therapeutic index. We’ll showcase several differentiated bispecificmodalities that have advanced into clinical development.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Advancing Bispecific Antibody
Development: Overcoming Challenges with Innovative Solutions for Target
Binding and Functional Assessment
Kathrin Dienst, , Field Application Scientist BioAnalytics
Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) are therapeutic antibodies targeting different antigens or epitopes,
enhancing potency and therapeutic effects. Various constructs, like single-chain variable fragments(scFv), Dual-Affinity Re-targeting Antibodies (DARTs), Triomabs, and bispecific T cell engagers(BiTEs), are in development for diseases like cancer. Structural constraints may affect binding andperformance. Developers face challenges in assessing BsAbs’ dual interactions, requiring innovative
approaches beyond traditional monoclonal antibodies. Solutions for efficient characterization
will be discussed.

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
15TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BISPECIFIC
ANTIBODIES
Introducing Novel Functionality and Constructs
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

IMMUNOCYTOKINES & DEGRADERS
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarksby a facilitator who keeps the discussion on track and the group engaged. To get the most out of thisformat, please come prepared to share examples from your work, be a part of a collective, problemsolving session, and participate in active idea sharing. Please visit the Interactive Discussions page on
the conference website for a complete listing of topics and descriptions.

Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer Immunotherapy Discovery,
Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, pRED

IN-PERSON ONLY BREAKOUT: Advancement of Novel Format and Applications of
Alternative Format Bispec and Multispec Antibodies

14:00 Engineering of Single-Domain Antibody-Based Bi- & Multispecifics Mimicking
Cytokine Functionalities

Yang Shen, PhD, Executive Director Antibody Engineering, Department of Bispecifics, Regeneron• How can structural biology help with the design and screening?
• How/Why the alternative format antibodies can achieve unique MoA, higher specificity andbetter activity?
• What are current hurdles to advance these alternative format molecules into and develop
them in clinic?

Stefan Zielonka, PhD, Senior Director, Global Head of Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering (ADPE)
Research & Development, Merck Healthcare KGaA; Professor, Biomolecular Immunotherapy, Technische
Universität Darmstadt
Cytokines emerged as promising molecules for therapeutic intervention in order to modulate theimmune response. However, their often pleiotropic nature, combined with their high potency whenadministered systemically, restricts their therapeutic applicability. We have generated cytokine
mimetics with tailor-made mode-of-actions based on multifunctional antibody derivatives.

14:30 Degrader Antibody Conjugates—Reimagined ADCs for Oncology and Beyond
Bernhard H. Geierstanger, PhD, CTO, FireflyBio
Degrader antibody conjugates (DACs) combine the unique strengths of ADCs with selective protein
degraders. Our state-of-the-art platform enables DACs broadly. Degraders with different mechanismsof action and diverse structures can be delivered in antigen-dependent manner opening exciting
opportunities for this novel therapeutic modality.

15:00 Innovative Cell Line Development Approaches for the Next Generation of
Bispecific and complex Antibody Formats
Lena Tholen, Dir Cell Line & Bioprocess Dev, FyoniBio
oIllustrating the relevance of host cell selection in early development: Effect on product quality andprocess feasibility
oHow seamless and full blown CLD approaches can impact final results in complex antibody
format production
oCase studies for complex bispecific antibody project developed in FyoniBio’s CHOnamite® plattform

15:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS
15:30 Interactive Discussions
Interactive Discussions are informal, moderated discussions, allowing participants to exchange ideas
and experiences and develop future collaborations around a focused topic. Each discussion will be led

28 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

TCR-BASED MODALITIES
16:09 Chairperson’s Remarks
Harald Kolmar, PhD, Professor and Head, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische
Universität Darmstadt

16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
16:40 Discovery of Therapeutic Grade TCRs for Bispecific T Cell Engagers Using a Novel
Transgenic Mouse Approach Expressing Fully Human TCRs
Luca Pellegrinet, PhD, Assistant Director, Preclinical Development, T-Therapeutics
We are at the dawn of a second wave of TCR-based biologics and cell therapies recognising peptideMHC, which expands oncology target opportunities beyond traditional mAb targets. This talk will
provide an update on the development of T-Therapeutics’ OpTiMus platform which is a novel mousetransgenic platform for discovery of fully human therapeutic TCRs and bispecifics. It will cover our
process with data on optimisation of our soluble bi-specific modality

17:10 T Cell Receptor β Chain-Directed Antibody Fusion Molecules: Next-Generation T Cell
Immunotherapy for Solid Tumours
Andrew Bayliffe, PhD, CSO, Marengo Therapeutics
Whereas the T cell receptor (TCR) is generally considered an adaptive modality, αβ TCRs can also act
as an innate receptor, engaging nonclonal ligands at germline-encoded sites. We designed a library ofantibodies that target distinct germline-encoded variants of TCR variable β chain. In certain formats,these anti-Vβ TCR antibodies agonize TCR and drive highly selective expansion and activation of Vβ T
cell subsets with a novel memory-like effector phenotype.

BISPECIFICS STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
15TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BISPECIFIC
ANTIBODIES
Introducing Novel Functionality and Constructs
17:40 Designing Potent TCR-Based Bispecifics Using Generative AI
Rachel Woolley, PhD, Principal Scientist, Protein Engineering, Etcembly Ltd
This talk will cover TCR discovery, computational selection, and affinity prediction. Results of in silico
engineering success, reformatting into bispecific (ETCer) and T cell- killing assays will be shared.

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

29 | PEGSummitEurope.com			IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MODULATING THE TUMOUR
MICROENVIRONMENT
Decoding the TME
Tuesday 5 November

10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ROLE OF PROSTANOIDS AND NON-CODING GENOMESTARGETING THE TUMOUR STROMA

11:15 Role of Prostanoids in Suppressing T Cell Responses in Cancer and Strategies toOvercome This Mechanism for Cellular Therapy

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Janine Schuurman, PhD, Biotech Consultant, Lust for Life Science B.V.

8:30 Characterising Fibroblast Subsets in Cancers: Opportunities for
Immunotherapeutic Exploitation
Gareth J. Thomas, PhD, Professor, Experimental Pathology, School of Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Southampton
Fibroblasts are sentinel cells that initiate, maintain, and suppress immune responses. Most cancer
research focuses on myofibroblastic fibroblasts (myCAF); myCAF-rich tumours show poor prognosis
and immunotherapy resistance. scRNASeq is identifying multiple CAF subtypes, some of which
may support anti-tumour immunity. Given fibroblast plasticity, switching fibroblasts from immunesuppressive to immune-supportive phenotypes is an attractive therapeutic strategy. Here I discuss
advances in understanding of CAF phenotype, function, and potential for therapeutic targeting.

9:00 Reinvigorating Exhausted T Cell and Modulating Cancer-Associated Fibroblast fromPatients in TME in the Presence of CD96 Blockades
JiMin Lee, PhD, Professor, KAIST
Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown therapeutic efficacy in various solid tumours; however,
ICIs have not shown clinical efficacy in hematological cancers such as AML and MM. Our findings
suggest that combined blocking of previous ICIs with CD96 in T cells and controlling PRRX1 levels in
CAF may be beneficial for therapy.

9:30 A FAP-Targeted LTBR-Agonistic Bispecific Antibody Modulating the Tumour
Microenvironment to Induce the Formation of HEV-Rich Immune Niches andEnhance CPI Efficacy
Leo Kunz, PhD, Principal Scientist, Spatial Biology Lead, Roche Pharma Research & Early Development(pRED)A FAP-targeted bispecific antibody agonizing the Lymphotoxin Beta receptor for the modulation of thetumour microenvironment to induce the formation of HEV-rich immune niches will be introduced. LTBR
pathway activation enhances the expression of adhesion molecule and chemoattractants, induces highendothelial venule formation, and the build-up of immune cell niches up to tertiary lymphoid structures,
thus enabling CPI’s anti-tumour efficacy. The IND-enabling preclinical data package will be summarized.

10:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
30 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

Sebastian Kobold, MD, Professor, Clinical Pharmacology, Klinikum der Universität München
Prostanoids have long been known as players suppressing tumour immunity, but their exact mode ofaction remained unknown. In fact, large trials have probed systemic synthesis inhibition for cancer
prevention and therapy with mixed results. We could recently demonstrate that PGE2 suppresses
CD8+T cells in the TME to curtail anti-tumour immunity, showcasing the need for tailored interventions.
We will discuss and present novel approaches how this could be achieved.

11:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Uncovering the Role of Non-Coding
Genome: A Revolution in Cancer Therapeutics and Human HealthLaszlo G. Radvanyi, PhD, President & Scientific Director, Ontario Institute forCancer Research
We are at the cusp of a revolution in finally understanding the role of “non-coding” elements or theso-called “dark genome” in human health. These “non-coding” regions contain retro-transposable
elements that regulate gene expression, tissue specification and differentiation, but also play apathogenic role in many diseases. This talk will introduce the components of this “dark genome”
and present new insights into its role in cancer initiation and immune modulation.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

UNDERSTANDING AND TARGETING IMMUNE CELLS IN THE TME
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Jeanette H.W. Leusen, PhD, Professor, Translational Immunology, Utrecht University

13:50 Spatial Analysis of the Tumour Microenvironment Reveals Immune Cell Players in
Therapy Response
Yvonne Vercoulen, PhD, Assistant Professor, Molecular Cancer Research, University of Utrecht
Immune Checkpoint Inhibition (ICI) remains ineffective in a significant proportion of metastaticmelanoma patients. Immune profiling of the melanoma Tumour Microenvironment pre-treatment using
high-plex imaging and RNA sequencing revealed that monocyte-derived macrophage (MDM) and T cell

IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MODULATING THE TUMOUR
MICROENVIRONMENT
Decoding the TME

recruitment associates with anti-PD1 therapy response and survival. This study provides important
clues for future precision combination therapy strategies.

18:05 Harnessing CUE ImmunoSTAT Biologic Platform towards Targeted Depletion of B
Cell in Autoimmunity Therapeutics

14:20 Emerging Role of Neutrophils in Anti-Tumour Immunity

Simon Low, Senior Director, Biologics Discovery & Innovation, Cue Biopharma
B cells, critical to autoimmunity, have been identified as potential therapeutic targets in the treatmentof autoimmune disorders. Our next-generation CUE-500 series Immuno-STATs are uniquely engineered
Fc fusion molecules that redirect and activate cytotoxic T cells, targeting pathogenic B cells. Leveraging
clinical efficacy and safety of our CUE-100 series Immuno-STATs, our novel autoimmune platform
enables the redirection of Immuno-STATs towards pathogenic B cell depletion for the treatment of
autoimmune diseases.

Rajkumar Noubade, PhD, Director, Oncology, Gilead Sciences
This presentation will explore the emerging evidence on the role of neutrophils in anti-tumour
immunity. It will discuss recent findings challenging the traditional view of neutrophils as bystanders ortumour-promoting cells. The focus will be on elucidating the multi-faceted functions of neutrophils inmodulating the tumour microenvironment, mediating tumour cell killing, and regulating adaptive antitumour immune responses. Therapeutic strategies harnessing the anti-tumour potential of neutrophils
will also be discussed.

14:50 How Neutrophils Are Activated by IgA to Kill Cancer Cells
Jeanette H.W. Leusen, PhD, Professor, Translational Immunology, Utrecht University
IgA has the unique capacity to activate neutrophils to kill cancer cells. In the presentation we willshow how neutrophils can kill cancer cells, and why they do this much better than IgG antibodies. We
engineered IgA for a better production, stability, and half-life. Block of myeloid checkpoints like CD47
will further enhance IgA activity. Effectivity of IgA in several pre-clinical models will be shown.

15:20 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

UNDERSTANDING AND TARGETING IMMUNE CELLS IN THE
TME (CONT.)
16:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:05 Harnessing Macrophages with Immunotherapy with IgE Class Antibodies
Sophia N. Karagiannis, PhD, Professor, Translational Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy, Kings College
LondonAs the most prevalent immune cell within the tumour microenvironment (TME), macrophages are
implicated in tumourigenesis and metastasis. However, these cells can be harnessed for cancer
therapy. In this talk we will discuss the potential of IgE class antibodies directed to cancer cells canrestrict tumour growth, promoting macrophage stimulation ad pro-inflammatory conditions in the TME.

17:35 Strategies to Overcome Resistance to Immune-Based Therapies
Taha Merghoub, PhD, MCC Deputy Director & Professor of Research, Pharmacology, Cornell University
We will be addressing the critical limitations, and mechanisms of resistance to immune-based cancer
therapies. We will also discuss tumour microenvironmental factors and immune evasion strategies
employed by tumours. We will highlight strategies to overcome resistance, such as combination
approaches, novel targets, and strategies to modulate the tumour microenvironment.

31 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Modulating the Tumour Microenvironment ConferenceIMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAININNOVATIVE CAR T THERAPY
Pioneering in vivo Cell and Gene Engineering

Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

cells is crucial to enhance CAR T cell efficacy. We will show that targeting specific antigens in thetumour matrix, equipping CAR T cells with transporters for nutrient sensing, or combining therapies with
Treg cell inhibitors can overcome TME challenges and improve anti-tumour immune response.

TME TARGETS FOR EFFICIENT CAR T CELL THERAPY

11:45 Targeting the Tumour Stroma with Endosialin-Directed CAR T Cells

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Astero Klampatsa, PhD, Group Leader, Cancer Therapeutics, Institute of Cancer Research

8:30 Metabolic Engineering against the Arginine Microenvironment Enhances CAR T Cell
Proliferation and Therapeutic Activity
Carmela De Santo, PhD, CRUK New Investigator Fellow, Immunology, University of Birmingham
Cancer cells catabolize the semi-essential amino acid arginine to drive cell proliferation. However, theresulting low-arginine microenvironment also impairs CAR T cell proliferation, limiting their efficacy inclinical trials. T cells are susceptible to the low arginine because of the low expression of ASS and OTC
recycle enzyme. We demonstrate that T cells can be reengineered to express functional ASS or OTC to
improve CAR T proliferation and function.

9:00 Co-Stimulation Drives Metabolic Regulation of CAR T Cells
Anna Schurich, PhD, Lecturer, Experimental Immunology, King’s College London
Metabolic adaptation enables T cells to fuel their extraordinary functions. The co-stimulatory domains
in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-constructs influence the T cell’s metabolic profile. We find that thisresults in a differential ability of CAR T cells to function in nutrient-restricted environments in vitro and inpatients in vivo, ultimately impacting treatment outcome.

9:30 Overcoming Tumour Endothelial Cell Anergy and Improving Immunotherapy Outcomes
Judy van Beijnum, PhD, Senior Scientist and Project Leader, AUMC Amsterdam
The general inaccessibility of the tumour microenvironment hampers effectivity of CAR T cells forapplication in solid tumours. Direct targeting of the tumour endothelium is a highly effective way of
inhibiting tumour growth, in part through alleviating immune suppression. Our strategy is to employ CAR
T cells specifically targeting antigens ubiquitously overexpressed by tumour endothelial cells in multiple
solid tumour types as a way to overcome these hurdles.

10:00 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:15 Optimising CAR T Cell Therapy through Understanding Tumour
Microenvironment Dynamics
Juan José Lasarte, PhD, Professor, Director of Immunotherapy Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra
The tumour microenvironment (TME) presents physical, chemical, and cellular barriers hindering CAR
T cell activity. Addressing collagen-rich matrix, acidic tumour interstitial fluid, and immunosuppressive

32 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Sarah Ash, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research,
University of LausanneTargeting solid cancers with CAR T cells is limited by the lack of tumour-specific antigens and theimmunosuppressive, desmoplastic tumour microenvironment. We hypothesized that targeting
endosialin (CD248), expressed by tumour-associated pericytes, would circumvent these challenges.
Endosialin-directed CAR T cells demonstrated specific activity in vivo, depleting target stromal cells,
resulting in reduced tumour growth and substantial impairment of metastatic outgrowth, highlighting
endosialin as an exciting antigen for CAR T cell therapy.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

CO-ENGINEERING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE FUNCTION OF
CAR T CELLS
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Melita Irving, PhD, Group Leader, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne

13:50 Logic Gating and Spatially Controlled CAR T Cell Function
Maria Themeli, PhD, Assistant Professor, Hematology, Vrije University Amsterdam
Despite the clinical success of therapy with chimeric antigen receptor–engineered T cells (CAR T) in
hematology, a significant percentage of patients eventually relapses, and several challenges still hinder
the application in solid tumours. Designing chimeric receptor systems using rationale combinations oftargets, costimulatory signals, and logic-gating expression circuits can lead to the next-generation of
CAR T cell therapy with broader applicability and improved efficacy and safety profile.

14:20 Development of Next-Generation Remotely Controlled CAR T Cells
Greta Giordano Attianese, PhD, Research Associate, Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer
Research, University of Lausanne
Our group developed both ON- and OFF-switch CARs allowing the remote control of engineered T
cells upon application of a clinically-approved small molecule. In addition, we optimised a lentiviral
vector enabling constitutive expression of a CAR and independent activation-inducible production of
immunomodulatory gene-cargo like cytokines or mIR-based shRNAs to knock-down inhibitory genes.
Our engineering tools can be used to improve both the safety and function of CAR T cell therapy.

14:50 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAININNOVATIVE CAR T THERAPY
Pioneering in vivo Cell and Gene Engineering

15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

15:55 ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer

33 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:45 Combinatorial Strategies with Engineered Immune Cell Therapies for
Malignant Glioma
Denis Migliorini, MD, Head, Neuro Oncology Unit, University Hospital of Geneva
The therapeutic use of chimeric antigen receptor T cells has achieved significant success in thetreatment of B cells malignancies. Despite promising results in mouse tumour models, a similar
outcome hasn’t yet been observed in solid tumours. In glioblastoma (GBM), several clinical trials
only showed a modest efficacy, partly due to the high tumour heterogeneity and immunosuppressive
microenvironment. In this setting, we aim to develop “à-la-carte” CAR T cell strategy.

18:15 Engineered Bacteria Direct the Tumour Specificity of CAR T Cells in Situ
Rosa Louise Vincent, PhD, Postdoc, Rooney Lab, Baylor College of Medicine
To address the formidable challenges of antigen loss and tumour heterogeneity, we coupled thecytotoxicity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells with the antigen-independent specificity
of tumour-colonizing bacteria to create a platform of probiotic-guided CAR T cells (ProCARs). By
engineering bacteria to release synthetic CAR targets in situ, we show effective and antigen-agnostic
use of the ProCAR platform across multiple models of xenograft and syngeneic cancers.

18:45 Revitalising Exhausted T Cells with IL-10: A Journey from Lab Discovery to ClinicalApplication for Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy
Li Tang, PhD, Associate Professor, Institute of Bioengineering (IBI) / Institute of Materials Science &Engineering (IMX), École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
In this talk, I will share our recent discovery of IL-10 as a metabolic reprogramming agent thatreinvigorates terminally exhausted CD8+ tumour infiltrating lymphocytes. This strategy has been

IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAININNOVATIVE CAR T THERAPY
Pioneering In vivo Cell and Gene Engineering

extended to develop metabolically armoured CAR T cells with IL-10 secretion to counter exhaustionassociated dysfunction in the tumour microenvironment for enhanced anticancer immunity. This new
CAR T cell therapy, i.e. IL-10-secreting CAR T, has shown promise in several on-going IIT clinical trials.

19:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:45 Close of Innovative CAR T Therapy Conference

34 | PEGSummitEurope.com			IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

NEXT-GENERATIONIMMUNOTHERAPIES

Improving Immunotherapy Safety & Efficacy
Thursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ADOPTIVE CELL THERAPIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Björn L. Frendeus, PhD, CSO, BioInvent International AB

8:30 Allogeneic Invariant Natural Killer T Cells—Update on MiNK’s Clinical Programs and
Next-Generation Pipeline
Marc A. van Dijk, PhD, CTO, MiNK Therapeutics, Inc.
MiNK Therapeutics has treated >80 patients to date with invariant natural killer T cells. We observed
durable clinical responses in heavily pre-treated individuals in both solid tumour cancer and in ARDS
secondary to viral infections, with a favourable safety profile (Nature Communications and Oncogene,2024). We will provide an update on our clinical and translational results to date and an outlook on our
next-generation CAR-iNKT program.

9:00 Advances in Gamma Delta T Cell-Targeting Bispecifics for the Treatment of Cancer
Pauline M. Van Helden, PhD, Director, Translational Research, Lava Therapeutics
Vγ9Vd2 T cells stand in between the innate- and adaptive-immune responses and constitute powerfulimmune effector-cell population amenable for cancer treatment. Bispecific T cell engagers (bsTCEs)
binding the Vd2 T cell receptor (TCR) and tumor-associated antigens (TAA) effectively trigger Vγ9Vd2 T
cells to lyse multiple type cancer cells, while sparing normal cells. Currently, a PSMA-targeting bsTCE isbeing evaluated in a phase 1/2a clinical trial in prostate cancer patients.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

T CELL-ENGAGERS
10:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: HLA-Agnostic T Cell Receptor
Recognition of Cancer
Andrew Sewell, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor and Wellcome Trust Senior
Investigator, Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine
T-cell receptors (TCRs) on conventional T-cells can successfully clear solid cancers in somepatients but due to their human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restriction any given TCR-T treatment
is only applicable to a minority of patients. Fortunately, some cancer-specific TCRs are
not HLA-restricted. We have been examining TCRs that recognise a wide range of cancers

35 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

without requirement for a specific HLA. Do such TCRs provide hope for pan-cancer treatments
in all patients?

11:15 MAIT T Cell Engagers: An Effective and Safer Modality for the Treatment
of Solid Tumours
Simon Plyte, PhD, CSO, R&D, Biomunex Pharmaceuticals
Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells (MAITs) are an abundant, tissue/tumor resident, subset ofcytotoxic non-conventional T cells. Bi-specific antibody-mediated redirection of MAIT cells leads to theelimination of cancer cells with a potency identical to that of classical CD3e T cell engagers. However,unlike CD3e engagers, MAIT engagers do not cause widespread cytokine release and regulatory T cell
activation and afford a large therapeutic window, favouring treatment of solid tumors.

11:45 Targeting Dysregulated Metabolism of Tumours Using Affinity-Enhanced γ9δ2TCR
Engineered T Cells and Bispecific T Cell Engagers
Dennis Beringer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Center of Translational Immunology, University Medical CenterUtrecht
A wide range of tumour types can be recognized by γ9δ2T cells in in vitro experiments, however the low
affinity of γ9δ2TCR for their tumour antigens, the phosphoantigen dependent BTN2A1-BTN3A complex,
results in poor clinical outcomes. Using our γ9δ2TCR-antiCD3 TCE to screen for potency enhancing
mutations resulted in affinity enhanced γ9δ2TCRs with significantly enhanced tumor control, both invitro and in vivo, paving the way for next generation γ9δ2TCR-based immunotherapies.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Combining Primary, Secondary, andTertiary Signals with Immune Cell Engagers to Supercharge
Anti-Tumor Immunity
Jijie Gu, President & CSO & Global Head, WuXi Biologics
Tapping into the natural T cell activation pathways of TCRs, co-stim molecules, and cytokines, WuXi
Biologics has developed 1) a clinical stage anti-CD3 antibody, whose binding kinetics balances
remarkable efficacy with low cytokine release; 2) Co-stim engagers to overcome immune-suppression;and 3) cytokine muteins with improved PK and safety to sustainably expand the immune effector cellpool. With these complementary Immune Cell Engager platforms and pharmacology service excellence,
we aim to enable clients to discover novel immune cell engagers with real clinical prospect

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

NEXT-GEN ANTIBODIES FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPIES
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Giuseppe Roscilli, PhD, CTO & Director, Drug Evaluation & Monoclonal Antibody, Takis Srl

IMMUNOTHERAPY STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

NEXT-GENERATIONIMMUNOTHERAPIES

Improving Immunotherapy Safety & Efficacy
14:00 Anti-TNFR2 for Cancer Immunotherapy

16:40 Antibody-Cytokine Fusion Proteins for Cancer Therapy: Late-Stage Clinical Results

Björn L. Frendeus, PhD, CSO, BioInvent International AB
TNFR2 is a co-stimulatory receptor mediating pro- and anti-inflammatory activity in immune cells.
This talk will discuss mechanisms by which anti-TNFR2 mAbs regress large inflamed tumours andsynergize with anti-PD-1 to induce cures and robust antitumour CD8+ T cell immunity in syngeneic
mouse tumour models. Compelling evidence that the first-in-class anti-TNFR2 mAb (BI-1808) can besafely administered and has single-agent anti-tumour activity in difficult-to-treat cancer, e.g., GIST, will
also be shared.

Dario Neri, PhD, CEO and CSO, Philogen; Professor, Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich
Cytokines are proteins that are capable of potently modulating the activity of the immune system. The
fusion of cytokines to tumour-homing antibodies has been shown to potently increase the therapeuticindex of the cytokine payload in animal models of cancer. In this lecture, I will present examples ofpotent therapeutic activity mediated by certain antibody-cytokine fusions, developed by Philogen, which
are now being studied in pivotal clinical trials

14:30 Discovery of the IL-18 Receptor Antibody Agonist Biased to Immune Effector Cells

Nicolas Poirier, PhD, CSO, OSE Immunotherapeutics
Masking cytokine technologies with enzymatic cleavable linkers allows activity on-demand at theright site but suffers from enzyme selectivity. Cis-delivery cytokine technologies allow redirectionof activity on the right cells but require potent cytokine attenuation for optimal cell selectivity. OSECytomask is a novel Cis-Demasking cytokine technology avoiding cytokine attenuation and cleavable
linkers to unmask cytokines on-demand on selective immune cell subsets expressing the appropriate
surface antigen.

Melissa Geddie, PhD, Vice President Drug Discovery, Diagonal Therapeutics
While agonistic antibodies represent promising novel therapeutic avenues to treat human diseases, thelack of effective identification process has significantly hampered their discovery. Using the DIAGONAL
platform comprising experimental and computational approaches, we generated bispecific agonist
antibodies that activate IL-18 receptors directly, inducing IFN, while sparing myeloid cells, avoiding thetolerability issue associated with IL-18 and its muteins, thus offering an activity driven towards antitumour effects.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:30 Networking Refreshment Break

THERAPEUTIC VACCINES
15:40 Optimisation of Neoantigen Targets for Shared and Personalised AntiCancer VaccinesMichelle Krogsgaard, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology and NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU
Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health
Neoantigens are emerging as the main determinants of tumour immunogenicity and efficacy of immune
checkpoint blockade, but their presence does not guarantee durable responses in patients with cancer.
Here we developed a comprehensive structure-function approach to identify the main characteristics of
neoantigens in melanoma and acute myeloid leukemia, originating from somatic mutations and frompost-translational modifications, affecting the outcome of checkpoint blockade.

IMMUNOCYTOKINES
16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

36 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:10 OSE-CYTOMASK: Cis-Demasking Cytokine Technology with Non-Cleavable Linker

17:40 Protein Engineering Using Novel Chemical Methods to Access PD1-Based
Immunocytokines
Arnaud Goepfert, PhD, Director, Protein Sciences, Bright Peak Therapeutics
Antibody-cytokine conjugates leverage orthogonal mechanisms-of-action (MoA) in one molecule toinduce potent antitumour immune responses. At Bright Peak, we generate immunocytokines throughsite-specific chemical conjugation of cytokine to “off-the-shelf” human IgG antibodies. During the talk, I
will focus on our PD-1-targeting conjugates and share compelling preclinical data supporting the future
development of BPT567, a PD1-IL18 immunocytokine.

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
15TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINOPTIMISATION AND DEVELOPABILITY
Improving Candidate Selection Leading to Clinical Success

Tuesday 5 November

OPTIMISING DEVEOPABILITY FOR MULTISPECIFICS AND ADCs

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

11:15 Assessing and Optimising Developability for Multispecifics and AntibodyDrug Conjugates

SCREENING AND ENGINEERING FOR DEVELOPABILITY AND
BIOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Mark Trautwein, PhD, Head of Immunoprofiling, Biologics Research, Bayer AG

8:30 Rationalising mAb Candidate Screening Using a Single Holistic
Developability ParameterDavid J. Brockwell, PhD, Professor, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds
A framework for the rational selection of a minimal suite of non-degenerate developability assays (DAs)that maximise insight into candidate developability or storage stability is lacking. To address this, wehave subjected a panel of test mAbs to a range of distinct DAs, and also assessed their long-term
storage stability. We show that it is possible to identify a reduced set of key variables using orthogonal
statistical methods.

9:00 Structure-Based Engineering of a Novel CD3e-Targeting Antibody for Reduced
Polyreactivity
Michael B. Battles, PhD, Senior Scientist II, Adimab, LLC
Using insights from the structure of anti-Hu/Cy CD3 antibody ADI-26906 complexed with CD3-epsilon(CD3e) and engineering using a yeast-based platform, we derived high-affinity CD3 antibody variants
with very low polyreactivity and significantly improved biophysical developability. Comparison
with clinical CD3 antibodies (as part of bi or multispecifics) shows that affinity for CD3e is correlatedwith polyreactivity. Our engineered CD3 antibodies break this correlation, forming a broad affinity range
with little polyreactivity.

9:30 De-Risking in vivo PK Attributes of Therapeutic Antibody Lead Panels Using HighThroughput in vitro Approaches as Part of Early Drug Discovery and Human Dose
Prediction Strategy
Jennifer Drew, Principal Investigator, GlaxoSmithKline
Intrinsic biophysical properties can impact the pharmacokinetics of candidate therapeutic mAbs. We
developed and embedded a high-throughput in vitro screen to test in vivo suitability of lead panels of
candidate antibodies and this screen is now a critical piece of our new dose prediction strategy.

10:00 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
37 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Andreas Evers, PhD, Associate Scientific Director, Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Global Research& Development Discovery Technology, Merck Healthcare KGaA
Much progress has been made for the (developability) property prediction of antibodies using AI/ML
methods, allowing the design of huge sets of sequences in silico. While these approaches are feasible
for standard monospecific antibodies, they are often not applicable for more complex next-generation
antibodies (including multispecifics and ADCs). This presentation will showcase lessons learned andspecific applications of physico-chemical property prediction strategies to assess and even optimise
bispecifics and ADCs.

11:45 A Developability Screening Cascade to Advance Multispecific Therapeutic
Antibodies to the Clinic
Cyrille Dreyfus, PhD, Associate Director & Head, Antibody Engineering - Protein Sciences, Ichnos Glenmark
Innovation
The flexible BEAT platform enables 5 or more functional modules to be combined into a single
molecule. The biophysical properties of a complex multispecific immune-cell engager antibody can bequite different to the sum of its parts. Therefore, a developability screening cascade was developed
starting from Fab or cytokine selection to multispecific lead candidate selection. This was applied to
identify ISB2001, a CD3xBCMAxCD38 T cell engager now in the clinic.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation to be Announced
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

FROM COMPUTATIONAL TO MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
David J. Brockwell, PhD, Professor, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds

13:50 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Moving the Dial on Computational
Antibody Design—Optimising beyond Affinity
Charlotte M. Deane, PhD, Professor, Structural Bioinformatics, Statistics, University of
Oxford; Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Antibodies are crucial to the immune system and vaccine response and have shown great
promise as biotherapeutics. Computational methods, particularly machine learning, canincrease the speed and reduce the cost of biotherapeutic development. In this talk I will describe
novel computational tools and databases we are pioneering in biotherapeutics from accurate

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
15TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINOPTIMISATION AND DEVELOPABILITY
Improving Candidate Selection Leading to Clinical Successrapid structure prediction to the prediction of their properties, looking at both their promise
and limitations.

14:20 Advancing Biotherapeutic Developability: Computational Strategies across Diverse
Therapeutic Modalities
Goran Miličić, PhD, Senior Expert, Science & Technology, Novartis
Liability evaluation based on the 3D structures of biotherapeutics alone or in complex with theirtarget provides critical insights. When experimental structural data are unavailable, computationalmodeling can aid in generating plausible structures. By combining these models with functional data,
we can assess the criticality of the liabilities. Additionally, docking methods and other computational
strategies can be employed for interface redesign, potentially enhancing stability and thereby improving
development outcomes.

14:50 Molecular Stabilisation of Soluble TCRs for Enhanced Yield and Developability
Sarah Wehrle, PhD, Research Scientist, Engimmune Therapeutics
Native TCRs suffer from poor intrinsic stability when produced as soluble proteins. To increase theirstability and recombinant expression yields, we developed a high-throughput platform, combining TCR
yeast surface display with thermal cycling and deep sequencing followed by computational analysis.
Using this approach, we were able to identify a minimal set of universal mutations that confer soluble
TCRs with enhanced biophysical properties and expression yields in mammalian cells.

15:20 Comparing Potential Bispecific formats of Trastuzumab and a
Humanized OKT3
Catherine Bladen, COO, Absolute Biotech
Not every antibody can be combined to produce well-behaved multi-specifics. The valency andgeometry of each design can determine the production, target engagement and ultimately the requisite
biological functions. In this case study, we selected two established antibody therapeutics, trastuzumab
and a humanized OKT3 to produce 20 different bispecific formats to compare the feasibilityof each format.

15:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
16:35 Computational Tools to Enhance the Detection and Correcting of
Antibody Imperfections
Christopher Sayer, Manager, Protein Engineering
Antibody imperfections can cause costly delays during clinical development. Motifs—such as
glycosylation, isomerisation, and deamidation sites—have been routinely identified and removed

38 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

during development by Abzena. However, additional considerations around overall surface chemistrymust now be considered. Here, we present a new approach to the analysis and modification of
surface chemistry with regards to overall charge and hydrophobicity. By managing these unfavorable
properties, we can start to tailor characteristics like pK and viscosity—and to develop more clinicallyready antibodies.

16:50 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:05 In silico Developability for Biologics
Isabelle Sermadiras, Associate Principal Scientist, AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca’s novel Machine Learning–driven Antibody and Biologics discovery platform (MLAB)
aims at greatly accelerating the discovery and development of biologics. MLAB integrates machinelearning with high-throughput and data-rich experimental approaches, including deep-screening anddevelopability assays. Thanks to bespoke experimental datasets, we have trained predictive ML models
for a range of developability attributes which we use to filter out sequences with poor developability
profiles early on in the discovery cascade.

17:35 Functional and in vivo Validation of Next-Generation Antibodies Designed with a
Machine Learning-Driven Synthetic Biology Platform
Peyton Greenside, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, BigHat Biosciences
BigHat Biosciences has developed novel machine learning (ML) approaches that leverage our highspeed, automated wet lab in order to rapidly and iteratively design over a thousand next generation
therapeutic antibodies each week. Our algorithmic approach pairs with our automated wet lab to guidethe search for better molecules by learning from each cycle of characterization across affinity, function,and developability measures of each antibody.

18:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Optimisation & Developability Conference

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINANALYTICAL CHARACTERISATION OF
BIOTHERAPEUTICS
Expanding the Analytical Toolkit for New Modalities
Wednesday 6 November

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

DATA INTEGRATION IN BIOTHERAPEUTICS ANALYTICSTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND INSIGHTS

11:15 Merging Automated Chromatographic Peak Fractionation with in-Depth Chemical
and Biologic Characterisation in Biopharmaceutical Development—Case Studies andLessons Learned

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Hristo Svilenov, PhD, Associate Professor, TUM

8:30 Insights from MAM Implementation at Roche/Genentech
Alexander Buettner, PhD, Senior Scientist, Pharma Technical Development, Roche
The multi-attribute method (MAM) is gaining popularity in the analysis of biopharmaceuticals as it has
the potential to replace traditional methods and address gaps in control systems. Roche/Genentech
is currently implementing MAM for quality control, and the presentation will provide valuable insights,
address challenges, and offer solutions related to IT system and instrumentation preparation, method
development, suitability assessment, and validation.

9:00 Polarised Excitation Emission Matrix (pEEM) Spectroscopy for the Rapid, NonDestructive Analysis of Biological Drug Product and Drug Substances
Alan G. Ryder, PhD, Professor, Nanoscale Biophotonics Laboratory, University of Galway
Polarised Excitation-Emission Matrix (pEEM) spectroscopy provides a detailed, informative, nondestructive measurement of proteins in solution. pEEM is a 4D measurement where polarisation
provides information about particle content, protein size, and mobility. Parallel and perpendicularpolarised EEMs can provide more sensitive monitoring of particle content or protein structure changes
respectively. Here we discuss some examples such as protein conjugation (e.g., ADCs), liposome
analysis, and mAb quality testing.

9:30 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Microheterogeneity Assessment ofBiopharmaceuticals Using an Orbitrap Tribrid Mass Spectrometer
Jonathan Bones, PhD, Principal Investigator, Characterisation and Comparability
Laboratory, National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Ireland
A concern with peptide-based characterisation strategies is the risk of sample preparationinduced modifications. Although it is possible to mitigate this risk through careful selection ofsample preparation approaches, an alternative method is the use of intact mass analysis using
ion activation and fragmentation using various methods to generate information-rich mass
spectra. Here, we apply intact top-down LC-MS for the analysis of mAbs, bispecific antibodies,and Fc fusion proteins.

Dan Bach Kristensen, PhD, Scientific Director, Symphogen
A key objective for the analytical control strategy in biopharmaceutical development is to map productvariants with altered safety and efficacy profiles. Here, learnings from the implementation of automatedLC peak fractionation combined with chemical and biological characterisation workflows will beillustrated through case studies. Robustness, flexibility, and the ability to combine any LC separation
technique with any characterisation workflow, including intact mass analysis and peptide mapping,will be discussed.

11:45 Benefits of Utilizing Lab Automation in Biologics Formulation Development, Lessons
Learned After 10 Years
Michael Siedler, PhD, Section Head, NBE Formulation Sciences & Process Development, Abbvie DeutschlandGmbH & Co. KG
Abbvie celebrates the 10th years anniversary of our high-throughput formulation development
approach this year by expanding our capabilities and getting ready for the next decade. This
presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the advantages and difficulties in utilizing suchan approach and how it is intertwined with some of the current trends in using AI.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Connectivity in Analytical Characterizationof Biotherapeutics with Streamlined LC-MS and MALS Workflows
Nick Pittman, Global Marketing Mgr, Waters UK Ltd
Developing safe, efficacious biotherapeutics requires robust analytical measurement. LC-MS & multiangle light scattering (MALS) are established tools for characterization & monitoring.
LC-MS generates structural data, giving insight to attributes throughout development & manufacture.
MALS determines the size, aggregation, & conformation state of therapeutics. With digital integration of
LC, it is ready to support work in regulated & non-regulated labs.
Both techniques enhance selectivity, resolution, & throughput, aiding analysis, with complianceready connectivity.

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL BIOTHERAPEUTICS
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks

10:00 Presentation to be Announced
39 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

Dan Bach Kristensen, PhD, Scientific Director, Symphogen

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINANALYTICAL CHARACTERISATION OF
BIOTHERAPEUTICS
Expanding the Analytical Toolkit for New Modalities
13:50 Analytical Characterisation in ADC Discovery: Challenges & Approaches

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights

Elizabeth Love, PhD, Scientific Leader, Antibody Drug Conjugate Platform, GSK
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are inherently complex molecules which can be generated using adiverse range of payloads, linkers, and antibodies. Furthermore, established conjugation methodologies
often result in heterogeneity with a distribution of species being observed. Analytical platform methods
must therefore be flexible to accommodate a variety of molecules. Here, we consider ADC-specificcritical quality attributes, analytical methods we employ for their determination, and examples oftailored characterisation strategies.

Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

14:20 Using Biophysics for Characterisation of Novel Modes of Action and Modalities
David Moreno Delgado, Director Discovery Sciences, Galapagos NV
Recently, classical but also novel biophysical technologies have evolved to enable characterisationof covalent, complex protein-protein, or even cell-protein interactions. New modalities’ expansion
within the last years have strongly complexified hit characterisation and validation. The detectionof some interactions has technical challenges, high residence time, protein-protein interaction, andconformational changes. Here, we will present some case studies containing technological proposals
to solve these kinds of phenomena.

14:50 Integrated kinetics assessment and quantitative isolation to boost
hybrid assay workflows
Speaker to be Announced, Fox Biosystems NV

15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

15:55 ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

15:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

40 | PEGSummitEurope.com			ANALYTICAL STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINANALYTICAL CHARACTERISATION OF
BIOTHERAPEUTICS
Expanding the Analytical Toolkit for New Modalities
16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL BIOTHERAPEUTICS (CONT.)
17:15 Presentation to be Announced
17:45 Stability Convergence in Natural Antibodies with Ultra-Long
Hypervariable Loops
Hristo Svilenov, PhD, Associate Professor, TUM
During this presentation, I will share our latest work on antibodies with ultra-long complementaritydetermining regions (ulCDRs). We applied an array of orthogonal analytical techniques to explain aremarkable structural and stability conservation in antibodies that share the same framework but havevery different ulCDRs and antigen specificity. The presentation is aimed at an audience interested inadvanced analytical characterisation of antibodies and new therapeutic antibody modalities.

18:15 Development of Assay-Evaluating LINC Format of LINC-Ig
Shusuke Nambu, PhD, Analytical Development Department, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
LINC-Ig, which has an extra disulfide bond between two CH1 domains of each heavy chain, is a uniquemolecule designed by Chugai. LINC format is functionally important to decrease toxicity and formed
in a manufacturing process on purpose, therefore the analytical method is required as a QC test. An
enzymatic activity specific for LINC format was discovered in the development of the analytical method.

18:45 Comparison of Biosimilars and Innovative Biologics from an Analytical Perspective
Sasa Vrhovec Hartman, PhD, Senior Expert, Science & Technology R&D, Novartis Pharma Services Inc.
Analytics represents a fundamental pillar in the development of biosimilars and innovative biologics.
Although they are both biopharmaceuticals, the analytical strategies differ in terms of purpose, scope,
analytical methods, and timelines. With extensive experience in developing both types of biologics,
Novartis has recently shifted its focus entirely toward innovative medicine. This presentation highlights
the critical distinctions between biosimilars and innovative biologics, emphasising scientific andorganisational aspects of analytical development.

19:15 Complete mAb Stability Characterization: From CHO Cell Line
Development to Degraded Polysorbate ID
Paul Dyer, Field Application Scientist, Halo Labs
Subvisible biological are CQAs that characterize a sample’s stability and quality, however current
technique’s sample requirements make SVP characterization happen only in late in development. Aurais the first instrument designed to characterize antibody stability as early as CLD via low volume, highthroughput subvisible particle imaging, counting, sizing, and identification. Aura enables complete

41 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

characterization from CHO CLD, developability assessment, formulation development, late-stage
stability analysis and product release.

19:45 Close of Analytical Characterisation of Biotherapeutics Conference

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINPROTEIN STABILITY & FORMULATION
Improving Efficacy and Mitigating Immunogenicity Risks

Thursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

STABILITY EVALUATION AND PREDICTIONS
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Anette Henriksen, PhD, Principal Scientist, Biophysics and Injectable Formulation, Novo Nordisk AS

8:30 A Universal Tool for Stability Predictions of Biotherapeutics
Heloise Quillay, PhD, Principal Scientist and Team Leader, CMC Analytics, Sanofi
A key aspect of pharmaceutical development is to guarantee the stability of products during long-term
storage and shipment. Advance kinetic modeling (AKM) is relying on short-term accelerated stability
studies to generate Arrhenius-based kinetic models that can be used for stability forecasts. The AKM
methodology was evaluated on key stability indicating attributes of different types of biotherapeutics
and was demonstrated to be a universal and reliable tool for stability predictions.

9:00 Real-Time Stability Screening of High-Concentration Antibody Formulations at LiquidInterfaces in a Microfluidic Device
Dominik Zürcher, Researcher, Biochemical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
The interfacial aggregation of biologics poses significant challenges in drug development and delivery,
enhanced by the need for high-concentration formulations. We present a microfluidic platform capableof capturing in real time protein particle formation upon application of an oil-water interface. We apply
the device to analyse high-concentration protein solutions and design stabilisation strategies againstinterfacial aggregation beyond traditional surfactants.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

AGGREGATION AND IMMUNOGENICITY RISKS
10:45 Aggrescan4D: Structure-Informed Analysis of pH-Dependent Protein Aggregation
Salvador Ventura, PhD, Full Professor, Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Autonomous University ofBarcelona
Protein aggregation impacts industrial protein production and formulation. Aggrescan3D (A3D) was
developed to aid in understanding and engineering aggregation in globular proteins, becoming oneof the most employed structure-based predictors of aggregation to assist in aggregation study andprotein redesign. Here we present Aggrescan4D (A4D), which largely extends A3D’s functionality byincorporating pH-dependent aggregation prediction, and an evolutionary-informed automatic mutation
protocol to engineer protein solubility.

42 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

11:15 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Role of Aggregation in Therapeutic
Antibodies Immunogenicity: Initiation of Innate and Specific Immune
Responses
Isabelle Turbica, PhD, Associate Professor, Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, ParisSaclay University, France
Immunogenicity due to aggregation of therapeutic antibodies represent a significant challenge.
Our studies highlight the importance of evaluating the immune effect of nano-sized aggregates,as they can increase the probability of recruiting aggregate-recognizing CD4 T-cells. We present
in vitro cell-based models for the assessment of aggregates immunogenicity, that can help in thescreening of antibodies under development, but also gain insights into the cellular mechanisms of
aggregates uptake.

11:45 Understanding the Behaviour of Endotoxin in Pharmaceutical Formulations toPrevent Drug-Induced Septic Shock in Patients
Amy Gorman, PhD Student, Chemistry, University of Manchester
The presence of endotoxin must be reliably detected in pharmaceutical formulations to ensure
patient safety and reduce the risk of drug-induced septic shock. However, recent phenomena havedemonstrated that particular formulation excipients, over time, can mask endotoxin from gold-standard
detection assays (i.e., LAL assays). The current work presents recent data that aims to identify theunderlying mechanism of masking.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

SURFACTANTS AND IMPACT ON STABILITY
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Heloise Quillay, PhD, Principal Scientist and Team Leader, CMC Analytics, Sanofi

14:00 The Protein-Stabilising Capability of Surfactants against Agitation- and SurfaceInduced Stresses
Supriyadi Hafiz, Senior Scientist, Liquid Formulation R&D, Merck Life Science KGaA
The application of surfactants, mainly polysorbates, is a common practice to prevent surface- or
agitation-induced protein aggregation in liquid formulation. However, polysorbates, despite theircommon application, bring along disadvantages including chemical and enzymatic instability. This
presentation will provide an overview of the protein stabilising capability of surfactants against
agitation- and interface-induced stresses and corresponding assays for its evaluation. Furthermore, afocus is set to alternative surfactants suitable to replace polysorbates.

ANALYTICAL STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
11TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINPROTEIN STABILITY & FORMULATION
Improving Efficacy and Mitigating Immunogenicity Risks

14:30 PS80 Oxidation Case Study: Impact of Tubing Material on Stability and Filling
Accuracy of Biologic Drug Product17:10 Learning from the Past: Use of in silico Models to Predict Physico-Chemical Profilesof Biotherapeutics

Heloise Audat, Head, Formulation and Development Laboratory, Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi
Laetitia Poumarede, Drug Product Process Development Engineer, Sanofi
We present Polysorbate 80 (PS80) oxidation in biologics drug product when exposed to long contact
time (~ 1 h) in platinum-cured silicon tubing during the filling; phenomenon observed in presenceof iron traces, but not in absence of iron or in presence of a chelator. Alternative filling sets made ofThermoPlastic Elastomer (TPE) showed no PS80 degradation but bad filing capabilities. Remediation
plan will be proposed.

Kannan Sankar, PhD, Senior Expert I, Data Science & Bioinformatics, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical
Research Inc.
Computational approaches have gained popularity over the last decade for the screening of biologics
molecules. We will present how in silico models trained on legacy data using sequence, structure,
and/or deep learning derived features perform at predicting various physicochemical properties ofcandidates and how these help in improving the overall quality of the biotherapeutic pipeline.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:30 Networking Refreshment BreakHIGH-THROUGHPUT AND IN SILICO MODELING FOR FORMULATIONDEVELOPMENT
15:40 Evaluating High-Concentration Solution Dynamics of Therapeutic Proteins in
Biologics Research and Development
Benjamin Weiche, PhD, Senior Scientist, Large Molecule Research, Biochemical & Analytical Resaerch,Roche Innovation Center Munich
Predicting the behavior of proteins at high concentrations and the associated risks like high viscosity
or aggregation remains challenging - especially with growing complexity in molecular designs. We will
present an early screening and selection process based on high throughput, low mass requiring assaysthat allows us to assess critical solution parameters and predict developability risks early in drug
discovery and over a range of different molecule formats.

16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
16:40 In silico Formulation Development for Protein-Based Therapeutics
Giuseppe L. Licari, PhD, Lead Scientist, Computational Structural Biology, Global Drug ProductDevelopment—BDC, Merck Serono SA
Advances in molecular format complexity and the need for higher protein concentrations inbiotherapeutics present significant formulation challenges. Our in silico pipeline streamlines thedevelopment of stable liquid formulations, saving time and cost. By employing physics-based
simulations, we predict protein behaviour in diverse conditions, facilitating the pre-selection of optimal
excipients and conditions for specific active pharmaceutical ingredients, thereby enhancing the successof formulation development.

43 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:40 Data Generation and Modelling in Combined Simulation and High-Throughput
Screening for Biotherapeutic Formulation Development
Maurizio Baldassarre, PhD, Associate Director & Head, Early Phase Drug Product Development, Merck
Automation and robotics offer immense opportunities to accelerate formulation development of
biologics at every clinical stage. While minimising hands-on effort and material demands, theseapproaches generate vast quantities of analytical and process data which must be correctly acquired,interpreted and modelled in order to successfully develop stable products. The presentation will focus
on our latest workflows, which bring together simulations and experimental, high-throughput screeningof biotherapeutics.

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

EXPRESSION STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

USING DATA SCIENCE TO MAXIMISEPROTEIN PRODUCTION
Advancing the Protein Expression and Production Toolbox
Tuesday 5 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

LEVERAGING DATA AND MODELS TO KNOW YOUR PROTEIN
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Rivka Isaacson, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Chemistry, King’s College London

8:30 FEATURED PRESENTATION: Target 2035: The Goal to Develop a
Pharmacological Modulator for Every Human Protein
Nicola Burgess-Brown, PhD, COO and Consultant, Protein Sciences, Structural
Genomics Consortium; Visiting Scientist, University College London
The SGC, a global public-private partnership, uncovers novel human biology through structural
genomics and chemical biology approaches. Target 2035 aims to develop tool molecules forevery human protein by creating massive open datasets of high-quality protein-small moleculebinding data, using DNA-encoded libraries and affinity selection mass spectrometry platforms.
Models built from these data will allow prediction of new and more drug-like small moleculebinders, which will be tested experimentally.

9:00 Picking the Right Proteins: Model-Derived Physicochemical Properties Can Predict
Behaviour of Proteins in Vivo
Christopher Wood, PhD, Lecturer in Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh
In recent years, there have been huge advances in protein structure prediction methods, which havegiven us access to vast amounts of highly accurate structural data for previously intractable targets. We
have found that properties derived from these models can be used to identify antibody designs thatwere highly produced in cells and discovered systematic variations in the properties of proteins thatmight have implications for protein engineering and design.

9:30 Product-Specific Solutions: Unlocking the Potential of Synthetic Signal Peptides
Adam J. Brown, PhD, CTO, SynGenSys Ltd.; Associate Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering,
University of Sheffield
Selection and/or design of signal peptide components is complicated by their product-specificfunctionality. This talk will introduce our signal peptide design platform, which can forward engineeroptimised, synthetic solutions for any new protein of interest. Underpinned by data from a wide range ofcellular and molecular contexts, this tool enables precise, predictable control of product translocation
rates, facilitating significant increases in recombinant protein titers.

44 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

10:00 Talk Title to be Announced
Fabian Mohr, Chief Scientific Officer, IBA Lifesciences

10:15 Accelerating Drug Development: Introducing 2nd Generation CytoMine®—Automated Multi-Laser Droplet Microfluidic Platform
Maryam Ahmadi, Director of Cell and Molecular Biology at Sphere Fluidics, Sphere Fluidics Ltd.
Sphere Fluidics’ Cyto-Mine®, automated microfluidic system, addresses the challenges of antibody
therapeutic development. It increases cell processing, reduces costs, and accelerates timelines. The
second-generation Cyto-Mine® enables the use of more fluorophores, allowing selection based on
productivity, specificity, markers, and viability. These enhancements make Cyto-Mine® a powerful tool
for faster, more efficient antibody development.

10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

APPLYING DATA SCIENCE FOR CONSTRUCT DESIGN
11:15 Bioinformatics and AI Approaches in Construct Design towards Soluble (andCrystallisable) Proteins
Christopher Cooper, PhD, Director and Head of Protein Sciences, CHARM Therapeutics
Construct design towards soluble protein fragments for biochemical, biophysical, and structural
analyses has been greatly facilitated by algorithms predicting features such as domains, disorder, andsecondary elements. The recent advent of AI tools such as AlphaFold2, however, has transformed insilico structural biology. Here we present practical tips for using bioinformatics and AI tools in constructdesign to help users improve the likelihood of obtaining functional proteins for their needs.

11:45 Biophysical Characterisation of Proteostasis Machinery
Rivka Isaacson, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Chemistry, King’s College London
Within the crowded environment of the cell, quality control machinery is vital for correct spatial andtemporal protein distribution. I will discuss the optimisation of design and production for a variety ofprotein constructs that have allowed us to investigate these mechanisms and understand some of theirroles in health and disease.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

APPLYING DATA SCIENCE TO ENHANCE PROTEIN EXPRESSION
AND PRODUCTION
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Nicola Burgess-Brown, PhD, COO and Consultant, Protein Sciences, Structural Genomics Consortium;
Visiting Scientist, University College London

EXPRESSION STREAM | 5 NOVEMBER
7TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

USING DATA SCIENCE TO MAXIMISEPROTEIN PRODUCTION
Advancing the Protein Expression and Production Toolbox
13:50 Using Machine Learning to Predict Recombinant Protein Expression

17:05 Employing Machine Learning for Cell Culture Optimisation

Sarah Caswell, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist, AstraZeneca
Identification of domain boundaries for optimal expression of proteins is essential for early drug
discovery. We have developed and implemented a machine learning model to predict protein
expression. The model was coupled to an in silico screening procedure that systematically designs andassesses thousands of constructs in a high-throughput manner. We will share how this is being usedwithin our protein production platforms at AstraZeneca and some of the challenges faced.

Bei-Wen Ying, PhD, Associate Professor, Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Machine learning (ML) is an emerging technology with practical applications in improving cell culture
in biotechnology such as protein production. Our research delves into the integration of ML techniques
to enhance cell culture, demonstrating that ML can efficiently optimise culture media for bacterial or
mammalian cells to increase cell growth and production. These success stories serve as compelling
evidence of ML’s potential to drive innovation in industry and research.

14:20 Co-Presentation: A Deep-Learning Approach to Predict Optical Density at
600 Nanometers

17:35 PANEL DISCUSSION: Speaking the Same Language: Insights from Protein andData Scientists

Giovanna Scaramuzzino, Software Technical Department Engineer, HSG Engineering
Riccardo Vannacci, Managing Director, Operation, HSG Engineering
Optimising production of recombinant proteins is challenging due to the interaction of many processparameters. Expensive and time-consuming multivariable experiments are necessary to study the
relationships between process variables. Therefore, in our work, we explore a deep-learning approach
using recurrent neural networks to predict both real-time and final optical density at 600 nanometers(OD600nm—a key indicator of protein production) values.

Moderator: Nicola Burgess-Brown, PhD, COO and Consultant, Protein Sciences, Structural Genomics
Consortium; Visiting Scientist, University College London• Can we enhance protein production using machine learning?
• What are the main challenges?
• What data to capture, in what format, and for what purpose?
• How do we simplify data capture to encourage data entry and consistency?

14:50 Leveraging Heterogenous Datasets for Modelling Recombinant Protein Production
Evgeny Tankhilevich, Scientist, Andrew Leach Group, Chemical Biology Services, EMBL EBI
We have developed a machine learning model to predict recombinant protein expression, using a
combination of in-house experiment results and publicly available data sets from SGC. Heterogeneity ofthese data sets presented a challenge during model development. Using a tailored model architecture
and training algorithm has yielded an improvement in Area Under ROC Curve of X%. The model was
experimentally validated on a carefully selected set of proteins.

15:20 Engineering mAb-Like Molecules From Leads to Drugs
Claes Gustafsson, Chief Commercial Officer & Co Founder, ATUM
The classic drug development funnel for mAb-like protein therapeutics starts with thousands of binders
derived from a discovery engine, and each subsequent developability assay reduces the lead pipeline
until only a handful winners (hopefully) are left standing. Instead, ATUM’s developability engineering
approach relies on utilizing information-rich multidimensional testing of a modest number of leadvariants. Systematic design of the variants enable the identification and characterization of causal
vs simply correlating sequence-function information. The resulting data not only dictates the ‘best’solution in the searched space, but also provides boundaries for developability attributes.

15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
16:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
45 | PEGSummitEurope.com			• How do we reduce the need to curate, “clean up” the data before applying ML?
• What is enough data for protein production to apply ML algorithms?
• The importance of including negative data!​​

18:05 Talk Title to be Announced
Benjamin Fode, eleva GmbH

18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Using Data Science to Maximise Protein Production Conference

EXPRESSION STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
17TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINOPTIMISING EXPRESSION
PLATFORMS Employing Cell Factories for the

Enhanced Production o f Recombinant Proteins
Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

SELECTING, ENGINEERING, AND OPTIMISING HOSTS AND
EXPRESSION PLATFORMS
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
David Ausländer, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist & Group Head, Biologics Research Center, Novartis AG

8:30 FEATURED PRESENTATION: Optimisation Step 1—Choosing a Suitable
Gene Expression System for Your Recombinant Protein Production
Nick Berrow, PhD, Manager, Protein Expression Core Facility, Institute for Research in
Biomedicine IRB Barcelona, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
Producing recombinant proteins allows researchers to control the costs, availability, and quality of
the reagents used in their experiments. However, the expression system that is most widely usedin the local environment is often the first system of choice, without regard to its suitability forparticular proteins. Here we evaluate the key characteristics of the most commonly used systems
to enable researchers to choose the most appropriate for their proteins.

9:00 Non-Canonical Amino Acid Integration in Mammalian Cells with GenomicallyIntegrated Genetic Code Expansion Machinery
Birthe Meineke, PhD, Project Leader, SciLifeLab
We have developed a modular toolbox for genetic code expansion in mammalian cells. With
noncanonical amino acids as synthetic building blocks in protein expression, we have applied thesetools for dual-color live cell fluorescence labeling. We generate cell lines for efficient expression of
noncanonical amino acid labeled proteins, an approach with great potential for protein engineering
beyond the standard genetic code.

9:30 Tailor-Made CHO Manufacturing Cell Lines Using Artificial Intronic miRNAs
David Ausländer, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist & Group Head, Biologics Research Center, Novartis AG
During biomanufacturing, unwanted host cell protein (HCP) expression can affect both yield and qualityof drug substances. Our newly developed artificial intronic miRNA technology allows for targeted genesilencing, significantly reducing HCP contamination. This technology facilitates the creation of complex
miRNA clusters, enabling simultaneous knockdown of multiple genes. This versatile approach enables
one-step cell-line development and engineering and presents a robust solution to various technicaldevelopment challenges.

46 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

10:00 Screen, Scale, Capture: Rapid Functional Protein Production for Drug
Target Characterization
Speaker to be Announced, Nuclera UK
Understanding drug-target interactions is crucial for refining leads, optimizing pharmacokinetics,
and predicting in vivo effectiveness. However, producing sufficient quantities of soluble, functionallyactive recombinant drug targets can be challenging and time-consuming. eProtein Discovery
addresses this issue with a multiplexed protein expression and purification platform. This innovative
approach enables rapid scale-up within a day, providing the necessary proteins for characterizing
compound interactions using SPR Biacore technology.

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

ADVANCING EXPRESSION AND PRODUCTION OF ANTIBODIES
11:15 Mammalian Expression of Difficult-to-Express Proteins: Insights into BiTE Molecule
Production Bottlenecks
Benedikt Greck, Graduate Student, Large Molecular Discovery & Research Data Science, Amgen Research
Munich GmbH
Recombinant protein expression is a highly regulated process consisting of transcription, translation,and protein folding. CHO-based expression often stays challenging for artificial therapeutic proteins,
like Bispecific T cell Engagers (BiTE), due to reduced productivity compared to mAbs. Investigationof relevant protein production steps unveiled the transcription rate as a root cause. Therefore, we
demonstrate quantitative in vitro transcription as a powerful and evolving method for further explorationof this bottleneck.

11:45 Customisable Protein Expression
Marina Fedorova, PhD, Scientific Investigator, Protein and Cellular Science, GSK
Drug discovery faces a rising number of projects that demand the generation of cellular reagentswith controlled or lower target protein expression. Here, we have tested and optimised several
techniques that can be utilised to tune protein expression: stop codon suppression methods, anaddition of IRES elements prior to the target sequence, and a panel of weak promoters and constructmodifications. These methods can be combined and applied widely.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation to be Announced
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

CHO CELL LINE ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Bjørn Voldborg, MSc, Head, National Biologics Facility, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark

EXPRESSION STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
17TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINOPTIMISING EXPRESSION
PLATFORMS Employing Cell Factories for the

Enhanced Production o f Recombinant Proteins
13:50 Streamlining CHO Clone Characterisation Workflows: Omics Signatures ofMultispecific Antibodies Mispairing
Patrícia Gomes-Alves, PhD, Lab Head, Animal Cell Technology Unit, Instituto de Biologia Experimental
Tecnologica (iBET)
Multispecific antibodies have therapeutic potential for various conditions. However, during production,
incorrect chain assembly and co-production of mispaired species impair biological activity. Omics
analyses of CHO clones producing trispecific antibodies revealed that high mispairing clones
experience ER stress, while low mispairing clones exhibit profiles indicative of activated proteintranslation, enhanced endocytosis, and target protein degradation. A panel of biomarker genes wastested for detecting high mispairing during early bioprocess development.

14:20 Harnessing the Power of dPCR and NGS-Based Tools for Advanced Genetic
Screening in Cell-Line Development
Daniel Heinzelmann, Process Expert, Cell Line Development, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG
The development of multispecific and asymmetric antibodies often requires the simultaneous
expression of two or more polypeptide chains. Moreover, such molecules can be challenging to express
and assemble correctly in CHO cells. Genetic screening during cell line development has the potential
to guide early clone selection by quantifying and screening for favourable mRNA ratios, gene expression
patterns, or genomic liabilities of cell lines.

14:50 Rebuilding Expression System and its Applications for R&D of Biologics
Takashi Ebihara, COO, GeneFrontier Corporation
PUREfrex is our unique rebuilt cell-free protein expression system. It’s easy to customize for various
applications, and useful for high throughput screening of various kinds of biologics, difficult-to-express
protein or novel modalities having the synergy with the AI/ML platform.

15:05 High-Throughput Signal Peptide Optimization to Modulate Protein Biogenesis andBoost Production
Tero-Pekka Alastalo, CEO, Avenue Biosciences
Protein production is a challenge in biotechnology. We introduce a novel approach to modulating
protein biogenesis, leading to robust improvements in yield and quality. With latest advancesand machine learning, it is now possible to simultaneously screen thousands of signal peptides
for any target protein to identify novel molecular sequences that outperform industry standards.
Our results demonstrate the potential to finetune any mammalian protein production system with
precision and speed.

15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

47 | PEGSummitEurope.com			EXPRESSION STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
17TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINOPTIMISING EXPRESSION
PLATFORMS Employing Cell Factories for the

Enhanced Production o f Recombinant Proteins

15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

15:55 ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

48 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

OVERCOMING EXPRESSION AND PRODUCTION CHALLENGES OF
UNIQUE PROTEINS
17:15 Presentation to be Announced
17:45 Proteomic and Transcriptomic Landscape upon Expression of rAAV
Components in CHO Cells
Jesús Lavado García, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Co-PI of Mammalian Cell and Bioprocess EngineeringGroup, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability
Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are preferred vectors for gene therapy but face
production challenges in HEK293 cells due to scalability issues and high costs. Currently, CHO cells do
not support rAAV production. Our study investigates the proteomic and transcriptomic responses of
CHO cells to the expression of AAV elements, aiming to identify and address bottlenecks to enhancerAAV manufacturing.

18:15 Expanding the Boundaries of E. coli Disulfide-Rich Protein Nanoparticles That
Selectively Destroy Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts
Eric Voltà Durán, PhD, Postdoctoral Investigator, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona
The selection of proper bacterial strains is required when producing recombinant proteins, particularly
when dealing with complex protein domains. This is the case for the human platelet-derived growth
factor D (PDGFD), a disulfide-rich domain that has been successfully incorporated in recombinant
protein nanoparticles that selectively destroy CAFs in vitro and in vivo. Exploiting Escherichia coli, a
promising tool for targeted drug delivery in the tumour microenvironment has been validated.

18:45 Ferritin Vaccine Platform for Multiple Displays of IHNV Glycoprotein
Sohrab Ahmadivand, PhD, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Multiple displays on the surface of self-assembling protein nanocages is a novel vaccine approach to
improve antigen stability and immunogenicity, ideal for enveloped viruses. While the glycoprotein alone
was insoluble, using the ferritin platform we developed an IHNV nanovaccine in E. coli system that issoluble at the size range ideal for cellular uptake and B-cell activation, biocompatible and stable underharsh GI conditions, and induces antiviral immunity in macrophages.

19:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:30 Talk Title to be Announced
Danijel Svec, Research Assoc, ExcellGene SA

19:45 Close of Optimising Expression Platforms Conference

EXPRESSION STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
9TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINPROTEIN PROCESSDEVELOPMENT Enhancing Workflows to Streamline

Bioproduction from B enchtop to Development
Thursday 7 November

PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS: INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY AND YIELD

7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

10:45 Production of Vault-Like Nanoparticles in a Prokaryotic Expression System

PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS: STREAMLINING PURIFICATION AND
CHARACTERISATION WORKFLOWS
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Mercedes Márquez Martínez, PhD, Technical Coordinator & Acting Scientific Director, Protein Production
Platform (PPP)—Nanbiosis, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

8:30 Characterisation of mAbs Attributes and HCP Clearance by Advanced Mass
Spectrometry-Based Bioanalytics
Sofia B. Carvalho, PhD, Senior Scientist, Animal Cell Technology, Instituto de Biologia Experimental
Tecnologica (iBET)
Evolving biologics complexity and regulatory demands dictate using advanced bioanalytics for productand bioprocesses characterisation. We developed an MS-based Multiple Attribute Method (MAM)
strategy for assessing PTMs of CHO-derived mAbs and established an HCP profiling workflow by
SWATH-MS. Key PTMs like glycosylation, oxidation, and deamidation were profiled, and targeted highrisk HCPs were quantified. These results defined the best design space, maximising product quality andpurification performance of our polishing platform.

9:00 Streamlined Processes for Isolating Recombinant HPV16 E6 Protein from
Escherichia coli Extracts
Angela Sousa, PhD, Assistant Researcher, CICS UBI, Health Sciences Research Centre, University of BeiraInterior
The recombinant dual-tagged-E6 protein (His6-MBP-E6) was expressed from Escherichia coli culturesand successfully extracted by sonication/ice cycles. The isolation/capture step was obtained byaffinity chromatography using MBPtrap column. The purification/polishing step was explored byapplying anionic exchange (QSepharose), size exclusion (Superdex), or immobilised-metal affinity
chromatography (HisTrap). The combination of MBPtrap with HisTrap obtained 94±3% of highly pureHis6-MBP-E6, preserving its secondary structure and allowing its application for biointeraction studies.

9:30 Presentation to be Announced
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

Jose Luis Corchero-Nieto, PhD, Senior Scientist, Nanobiotechnology Group, CIBER-BBN & University
Autonoma de Barcelona
Vaults (eukaryotic protein nanoparticles, absent in prokaryotic cells) show potential as drug-delivery
systems (DDS). Recombinant vaults are produced in insect cells and purified by ultracentrifugation,
tedious and time-consuming strategies. We propose a protocol to produce vault-like nanoparticles
in Escherichia coli cells, which allows the spontaneous formation of vault-like nanoparticles andtheir loading with cargo proteins. This approach paves the way to faster and easier engineering andproduction of vault-based DDSs.

11:15 Using Stable Producer Cell Lines for Manufacturing of Lentiviral Vectors
Jessica Vogel, Associate Scientist, BPD VVPD, CSL Innovation GmbHTo facilitate clinical grade lentiviral vector production, we are presenting a novel state of the art platform
for LV production using HEK293T-based stable packaging cell lines in both adherent and suspension
modalities. We developed an optimised perfusion process resulting in high Lentivirus (LV) titer andensuring that high viability of cells during LV production is ensured. We also designed an efficient tailormade DSP process to purify and sterile filter LVs.

11:45 Extracellular Vesicle Depletion and UGCG Overexpression Mitigate the Cell Density
Effect in HEK293 Cell Culture Transfection
Laura Cervera, PhD, Serra-Hunter Lecturer Professor, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Biològica i
Ambiental, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
The reduction of cell-specific productivity in transient gene expression (TGE) at high cell density (HCD)
is known as the cell density effect (CDE). This study investigates the CDE through the production of HIV1 Gag virus-like particles (VLPs) via transient transfection in HEK293 cells. Combining EV depletion and
UGCG overexpression improved transfection efficiency by ~45% at 12 × 106 cells/mL also enhancing
VLP budding and improving production by 60%.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS: INSTRUMENTATION AND AUTOMATION
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Peter Schmidt, Director Protein Biochemistry, CSL Research, Melbourne, Australia

49 | PEGSummitEurope.com			EXPRESSION STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
9TH ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAINPROTEIN PROCESSDEVELOPMENT Enhancing Workflows to Streamline

Bioproduction from B enchtop to Development
14:00 Spreadsheet DoE: A Tool for Optimising Protein Production and Characterisation
Elliott J. Stollar, PhD, Lecturer, Biochemistry, University of Liverpool
Biochemical research often necessitates the optimisation of conditions to maximise product yield.
However, Design of Experiments (DoE) approaches for rapid process optimisation present a challenge
due to statistical complexities and high software costs. To address this, we introduce “Spreadsheet
DoE,” a user-friendly tool for non-statisticians. In conjunction with high-throughput protein purification
methods developed in our lab, Spreadsheet DoE has optimised various biochemical processes along
the protein production and characterisation pipeline.

14:30 A Generic Approach for Miniaturised Unbiased Bispecific Antibody Screening via
Automated Intein- or cFAE-Based Workflows
Achim Doerner, PhD, Scientific Director, Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA,
Darmstadt
For novel bispecific antibodies, methods exist for low-throughput large-scale production but
combinatorial screens often still represent the bottleneck for the identification of the best
possible bispecific antibody. This presentation will share insights into two robust and miniaturised
heterodimerisation workflows based on inteins or controlled Fab-arm exchange (cFAE), discuss
advantages and pitfalls, and show its compatibility with high-throughput functional screens ofbiparatopic antibodies and ADCs.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS: INSTRUMENTATION AND
AUTOMATION (Cont.)
15:40 Accelerating Drug Discovery: High-Throughput Semi-Automated Expression Platform
for Antibody Lead Generation
Lucy Holt, PhD, Director, Large Molecule Discovery, GSK
We report the development of a semi-automated platform to express panels of antibodies in highthroughput at mid-scale for developability and functional assays whilst minimising hands-on lab work.
Our platform enables parallel production of 30 mg of material for 96 clones, keeping the discovery
funnel wide for longer. We have created digital workflows for sample and data tracking enabling datareuse and driving refinement of AI/ML models.

16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
16:40 High-Throughput Analytics: Shaping Data-Driven Decisions inBiopharmaceutical Development
Giulia Lambiase, PhD, Senior Scientist, Biopharmaceutical Development, AstraZeneca
High-throughput (HT) analysis has emerged as a powerful asset for advancing drug discovery
and process development in the biopharmaceutical industry. Leveraging automation, scaled-

50 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

down processes, and advanced data analytics, it enables rapid screening of numerous samples,yielding valuable insights within shorter timeframes. This talk highlights how HT analysis facilitates
informed decisions in the early stages of biopharmaceutical development, particularly benefiting theunderstanding of complex protein scaffolds and new drug modalities.

17:10 FEATURED PANEL DISCUSSION: Higher Throughput Protein Production
Challenges: Methodologies, Strategies, and the Art of Managing Multiple Projects
Moderator: Richard Altman, MS, Field Application Scientist, Life Science Solutions, Thermo
Fisher ScientificProtein expression laboratories provide crucial support to drug discovery efforts. This panel
discussion will focus on the concepts, technologies, and strategies necessary to meet the everincreasing need for recombinant proteins.
• Know your protein• Strategies on how to manage multiple “top priority” projects• Total workflow efficiency• The importance of tech development to long term success​• Troubleshooting strategies or how much time should be spent before moving to the next option?​
Panelists:
Nicola Burgess-Brown, PhD, COO and Consultant, Protein Sciences, Structural Genomics
Consortium; Visiting Scientist, University College London
Dominic Esposito, PhD, Director, Protein Sciences, Frederick National Laboratory
Peter Schmidt, Director Protein Biochemistry, CSL Research, Melbourne, Australia
Bjørn Voldborg, MSc, Head, National Biologics Facility, DTU Bioengineering, Technical
University of Denmark

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 5 NOVEMBERINTRODUCTION TO MACHINELEARNING FOR BIOLOGICS DESIGNINSTRUCTOR:
Christopher R. Corbeil, PhD, Research Officer, Human Health
Therapeutics, National Research Council CanadaThis course offers an introduction to concepts, strategies, andmachine learning methods used for biologics design. It includes
presentations and demonstrations of the methods used in thefield, covering techniques such as triaging sequences, modulating
affinity, and designing antibody libraries, along with increasing
manufacturability. The course is directed at scientists new to thefield and protein engineers wanting an introduction to how machinelearning can aid in guiding biologics design.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:• Basics of machine learning and where it fits into drug discovery• Machine learning: a historical view of its application in the fieldof drug discovery• How machine learning revolutionized homology modeling• Applying machine learning to structure-based biologics design• Guiding the design of display libraries using machine learning

51 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Christopher R. Corbeil, PhD
Research Officer, Human Health Therapeutics, National ResearchCouncil Canada
Dr. Christopher Corbeil is a research officer
at the National Research Council Canada(NRC) who specializes in the development
and application of computational tools forbiotherapeutic design and optimization. He
is also an associate member of the McGill
Biochemistry Department and teaches
classes in Structure-Based Drug Design at
McGill University. After receiving his PhDfrom McGill University, he joined the NRC as a Research Associate
investigating the basics of protein-binding affinity. Following his timeat the NRC he joined Chemical Computing Group as a researchscientist developing tools for protein design, structure prediction, andbinding affinity prediction. He then decided to leave private industry
and rejoin NRC with a focus on antibody engineering. Dr. Corbeil has
authored over 30 scientific articles and is the main developer ofmultiple software programs.

MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 1
Strategies and Best Practices for Training Data, Out of Set Predictions a
 nd R&D Workflows
Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

DATA STRATEGIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Enkelejda Miho, PhD, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland;Managing Director, aiNET

8:30 Scalable Active Learning for Therapeutic Antibody Design
Nathan Frey, PhD, Senior Machine Learning Scientist, Prescient Design, a Genentech Company
We will discuss our approach and general considerations for implementing active learning anddesign of experiments to iteratively optimise therapeutic antibody candidates. Our active learning
framework is underpinned by both algorithmic innovations and robust data pipelines. We achieve
improvements across binding affinity, expression yield, and developability properties via orthogonal
optimisation approaches, analogous to the multitude of affinity maturation pathways observed in
immune responses.

9:00 Expanding Open-Source Structure Prediction with OpenFold
Jennifer Wei, PhD, Machine Learning Software Engineer, OpenFold
The OpenFold Consortium brings together academic and industrial teams to build state-of-the-art
protein structure and co-folding prediction models optimised for use on commercial computational
hardware. We develop fully open-sourced models and support creation of new experimental datasets,
aiming to build more powerful models that can accurately predict complex systems of significance tolife sciences. In my presentation, I will present the latest modelling and software developments fromthe consortium.

9:30 Key Insights from Boehringer Ingelheim’s Digital Transformation Journey
Kausheek Nandy, Digital Transformation-Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s digital transformation journey began in 2023, focusing on three key areas.
Firstly, empower scientists by liberating them from routine tasks, allowing them to concentrate on highvalue work. Second, create a hub for innovation by building an in-house digital portal, a scientist-driven
mechanism to formalize and standardize in silico protocols. Lastly, emphasize digital data capture FAIR
and APIs, setting the stage for leveraging AI/ML in future.

10:00 AI-Driven De Novo Design of High-Affinity VHH for GPCR Targeting
Per Greisen, President, BioMap
The development of targeted biologics is often hindered by the challenges of identifying andengineering antibodies against specific epitopes. AI-powered de novo antibody design offers apromising solution, enabling precise epitope selection and sequence optimization. Here, we leverage

52 | PEGSummitEurope.com			a synergistic combination of structural sampling diffusion models and our proprietary large language
model (xTrimo) to design VHH antibodies against a functional GPCR epitope.

10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:15 Pioneering Data-Driven Strategies in de novo Nanobody Design
Roberto Spreafico, PhD, Director, Discovery Data Science, Genmab
AI’s potential to create antibodies from scratch is promising but hampered by poor hit rates and binding
strengths, rooted in insufficient training data. We have addressed this issue by using computational
simulations to determine data requirements such as modality, amount, and diversity. Simulations havebeen guiding our ongoing experimental data generation work, marking a shift towards a data-centric
strategy that complements recent algorithmic progress, aiming to overcome current challenges.

11:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Generating Data and Labels to Train AI
Models for the Design of Better Therapeutic Antibodies
Yanay Ofran, PhD, Founder, CEO, Biolojic Design Ltd.
This presentation focuses on the challenges in obtaining large and well-labeleddatasets for training effective AI models. High-throughput data is often not sufficiently labeled
to allow for the training of good models. I will review current approaches to coping with thischallenge and propose a path to generating and labeling data to train models that design better
antibodies that do things that traditionally discovered antibodies are unlikely to do.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Cutting through the Hype: Real-World
Applications of AI in Antibody Discovery and Engineering
Mary Ann Pohl, Director of Alliance Management, XtalPi Inc.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming antibody discovery and engineering. Ailux’s platformsynergistically combines the best of wet lab and AI. We will explore a series of case studies thatexemplify the applications of our AI-driven approach for tackling difficult GPCR targets, designing nextgen display libraries, predicting Ab-Ag complex structures and engineering challenging molecules. This
presentation provides a realistic and evidence-based perspective on AI’s impact on the industry.

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

INVERSE FOLDING MODELS
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Amir P. Shanehsazzadeh, Artificial Intelligence Scientist, Absci Corp.

MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 1
Strategies and Best Practices for Training Data, Out of Set Predictions a
 nd R&D Workflows
13:50 Antibody CDR Design by Ensembling Inverse Folding with Protein Language Models

15:55 ADC Highlights

Diego Del Alamo, PhD, Computational Biologist, GSK
Antibody design is a multi-parameter optimisation problem that integrates data from multiple sources,
such as high-resolution structures and sequence libraries. Here we show that predictions from multiple
independently-trained machine learning models (e.g., ProteinMPNN, ESM, AbLang) can be easily andeffectively combined when redesigning antibodies, and that doing so retains the strengths but not the
weaknesses of each ML method in isolation.

Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

14:20 Improved Antibody-Antigen Interaction Prediction Using Inverse Folding Latent
Representations
Paolo Marcatili, PhD, Director, Antibody Design, Novo Nordisk
Inverse folding (IF) and protein large language models (pLLMs) have become useful tools for antibody
variant generation, with generally good performance, but limited ability to find mutations that enhance
the binding to the antigen. Here, we show how IF models can be used to predict B cell epitopes, andhow to extend this approach to estimate antibody-antigen interaction energy and to find mutations that
increase affinity.

14:50 Presentation to be Announced
15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
17:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

53 | PEGSummitEurope.com			MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 6 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 1
Strategies and Best Practices for Training Data, Out of Set Predictions a
 nd R&D Workflows
PROGRAM UPDATES FROM AI-CENTRIC BIOPHARMAS
17:45 In vivo Differentiated Trastuzumab Variants Designed Using Generative AI
Amir P. Shanehsazzadeh, Artificial Intelligence Scientist, Absci Corp.
We designed trastuzumab variants using generative AI with HER2 binding rates that are statisticallysuperior to baselines. We characterized 421 binders using SPR, finding 71 with <10nM affinity. Elevenbinders were functionally equivalent or superior to trastuzumab, with most demonstrating suitabledevelopability features. One binder showed ~3x higher cell-based potency compared to trastuzumab.

18:15 De novo Design of Miniprotein-Based NK Cell Engagers
Chris Bahl, President, CSO and Co-Founder, AI ProteinsBi-specific immune cell engagers have emerged as a highly effective new therapeutic modality foroncology. Current engagers are limited by their reliance on immunoglobulin proteins, which restricts thevalency, geometry of binding, developability, and speed of engineering. We solved these challenges byleveraging de novo-designed miniproteins, which enabled us to rapidly create and optimise highly potent
NK cell engagers for AML that control tumour growth using xenograft models.

18:45 Method Development and Application of Machine Learning to Rapidly Reduce the
Immunogenicity of Bacterial Proteases That Degrade Pathogenic Immunoglobulins
Ryan Peckner, PhD, Director, Machine Learning, Seismic Therapeutic
We develop and apply machine learning models to optimise in parallel multiple drug-like properties ofthe bacterial enzyme IdeS, to design a therapeutic for chronic autoantibody-mediated diseases, while
minimising its immunogenicity and other liabilities. The success of this approach is demonstrated via invivo and in vitro assays, and we illustrate its generalizability by engineering non-immunogenic bacterial
cysteine proteases with a variety of immunoglobulin isotype specificities.

19:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
19:45 Close of Machine Learning for Protein Engineering: Part 1 Conference

54 | PEGSummitEurope.com			MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 2
Demonstrating Value and Putting Theory into PracticeThursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ADVANCED AI TECHNIQUES FOR ANTIBODY ENGINEERING &DEVELOPMENT
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Enkelejda Miho, PhD, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland;Managing Director, aiNET

8:30 Artificial Intelligence Supports Antibody Discovery in Dengue
Enkelejda Miho, PhD, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland;Managing Director, aiNET
Dengue virus poses a serious threat to global health and there is no specific therapeutic for it. The
antibody response in dengue infection and immunisation can be deconvoluted with high-throughput
sequencing and artificial intelligence methods. Machine learning applied to sequencing data identifies
rare and underrepresented dengue-specific antibodies.

9:00 Enhancing Antibody Language Models with Structural Information
Jake D. Galson, PhD, Vice President, Technology, Alchemab Therapeutics
The central tenet of molecular biology is that a protein’s amino acid sequence determines its threedimensional structure, and thus its function. Here, we propose contrastive sequence-structure pretraining (CSSP) to amalgamate the representations of antibody sequences and structures in a mutual
latent space. Integrating structural information leads both antibody and protein language models to
produce sequence representations that better correspond with structural similarity, improved binding
prediction accuracy, and data efficiency.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

INNOVATIONS IN HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING, OPTIMISATION,
AND ML-DRIVEN SUCCESS PREDICTIONS
10:44 Chairperson’s Remarks
M. Frank Erasmus, PhD, Head, Bioinformatics, Specifica, Inc.

55 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

10:45 Multi-Modal Learning of Protein Properties
Tunca Dogan, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and AI Engineering, Hacettepe University,
TurkeyThe identification of the specific functions of each protein is essential for understanding the underlying
mechanisms of life and developing novel treatments against deadly diseases. Large language models(LLMs) have emerged as a reliable tool for uncovering hidden knowledge in sequence-based data. In
this seminar, I’ll present our work on protein foundation models, which employ LLMs and other deeplearning architectures to embed proteins in high-dimensional vector spaces.

11:15 Deep Learning for Expression Construct Optimisation
Carlos Outeiral, PhD, Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Research Fellow, Department of Statistics,
University of Oxford
Optimising the yield of protein expression experiments is a key challenge in increasing the efficiencyof biologics manufacturing. In this talk, I will discuss some of the contributions that the Oxford Protein
Informatics Group has made in building deep learning algorithms that can model and optimise protein
expression yield.

11:45 Machine Learning–Driven Design and Optimisation of Antibodies
Lin Li, PhD, Senior Staff Member, Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The design and discovery of early-stage antibody therapeutics is time- and cost-intensive. I will
present an end-to-end machine learning-driven single-chain variable fragments (scFv) design
framework that uniquely combines large language models, Bayesian optimisation, and high-throughput
experimentation. The method enables rapid and cost-effective design of thousands of scFvs across allcomplementary determining regions. The designed antibodies exhibit strong binding affinities, at highlevels of diversity, to a given antigen.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Maria Wendt, PhD, Global Head and Vice President, Digital and Biologics Strategy and Innovation, Sanofi

14:00 Expanding Diversity for Synthetic Antibody Epitope and Affinity Prediction Using
Multiple Round Enrichment Campaigns
Laura P. Spector, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist, Bioinformatics, Specifica Inc.
Robust datasets are essential for efficient training of machine learning algorithms, particularly in thecontext of affinity and epitope prediction. We have developed an iterative selection strategy for yeast
equilibrium sorting paired with NGS that promotes recovery of antibody sequences with broad ranges of

MACHINE LEARNING STREAM | 7 NOVEMBER
3RD ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

MACHINE LEARNING FOR
PROTEIN ENGINEERING: PART 2
Demonstrating Value and Putting Theory into Practiceparatopes and affinities. Coupling these outputs with high-throughput functional screening assays has
the potential to yield broadly distributed, validated sequences, ideal for model training.

16:40 Modular Binding Proteins: Combining Machine Learning, Structural Biology, andExperimental Evolution

CUTTING-EDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN DE NOVO DESIGN FROMSEQUENCE & STRUCTURE

Andreas G. Plueckthun, PhD, Professor & Head, Biochemistry, University of Zurich
We challenge the paradigm of selection from large universal libraries to obtain binding proteins rapidly
and efficiently. For linear epitopes, we found it to be possible to exploit the periodicity of peptide bonds
and create a completely modular system, based on a binding protein design that shares the same
periodicity. To reach selective and sequence-specific binding, we found it advantageous to combine
machine learning, structural biology, and experimental evolution.

14:30 Designing Protein with Language Models
Ali Madani, PhD, Founder and CEO, Profluent Bio
Large language models (LLMs) learn powerful representations of protein sequence and structural data.
In this talk, we will dive into frontier LLMs that can generate whole gene editors in scratch and push theboundaries of generalisation in antibody design.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS
15:30 Interactive Discussions
Interactive Discussions are informal, moderated discussions, allowing participants to exchange ideas
and experiences and develop future collaborations around a focused topic. Each discussion will be led
by a facilitator who keeps the discussion on track and the group engaged. To get the most out of thisformat, please come prepared to share examples from your work, be a part of a collective, problemsolving session, and participate in active idea sharing. Please visit the Interactive Discussions page on
the conference website for a complete listing of topics and descriptions.

IN-PERSON ONLY BREAKOUT: Machine Learning for MHC Peptide Presentation andAntibody Immunogenicity Prediction
Mojtaba Haghighatlari, PhD, Senior Machine Learning Scientist, Pfizer Inc.
• Novel deep learning approaches for predicting MHC antigen presentation and the modeling challenges• Interpretability and explainability of the available deep learning models• Best practices in data preparation for machine learning of peptidomics datasets• Antibody design by transitioning from peptide presentation to protein screening

CUTTING-EDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN DE NOVO DESIGN FROMSEQUENCE & STRUCTURE (Cont.)
16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)56 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:10 Controllable Protein Design with Language Models
Noelia Ferruz Capapey, PhD, Group Leader, AI for Protein Design Group, Center for Genomic Regulation(CRG)
I will present the use of conditional language models for the à la carte design of proteins with specificfunctions. I will delve into ProtGPT2, ZymCTRL, and REXzyme protein language models for thegeneration of specific proteins with an increasing level of conditioning. These models have undergone
experimental validation.

17:40 Improving Deep Learning Protein Complex Structure Prediction Using DEEPMSA2
with Huge Metagenomics Data
Yang Zhang, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Institute of Singapore; Department ofBiochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 5 NOVEMBERONCOLOGY
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODY-BASEDCANCER THERAPIES
Driving Breakthrough Therapies
Tuesday 5 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

CONDITIONALLY-ACTIVE BIOLOGICS
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Volker Schellenberger, PhD, President & CEO, Amunix

8:30 Azymetric Fc-Based Therapeutic Modalities Enabling Tumour-Restricted Immune Cell
Activation and Engagement
Thomas Spreter Von Kreudenstein, Head, Protein Engineering, Zymeworks
The optimised design, protein engineering, mechanism of activation, and preclinical characterization oftherapeutic strategies supporting (A) tumour localized cytokine activation (ex. ZW270, a conditionallyactivated IL-12) and (B) conditional anti-tumour T cell engagers with simultaneous checkpoint inhibition(ex. PROTECT) will be presented.

9:00 Selectively Targeting VISTA in the Tumour-Microenvironment with SNS-101, a
Conditionally Active Monoclonal Antibody
Edward van der Horst, PhD, CSO, Sensei Bio
SNS-101, a novel, conditionally-active antibody, specifically targets the VISTA checkpoint in the acidic
tumor microenvironment to enhance anti-tumour immunity and overcome resistance to checkpoint
inhibitors. It overcomes previous safety and PK challenges, showing potential in combating immune
checkpoint inhibitor resistance, as evidenced in preclinical studies (Thisted et al. Nat. Comm 2024).
Currently in Phase I (NCT05864144), SNS-101 has shown selectivity for active VISTA, mitigating TMDD
and reducing CRS risks.

9:30 Chain-Exchange and Split-Protein Technologies for the Generation of Targeted
Antibody and Cytokine Prodrugs
Vedran Vasic, PhD, Scientist, Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche
We have designed antibody chain-exchange and chain-complementation approaches that can be used
to generate conditionally active antibody prodrugs. The underlying principle is based on antibodymediated targeting of two separate inactive entities, which results in the generation of functional bi- or
multi-specific antibody derivatives upon accumulation on target cells. Examples that will be presented
include prodrug approaches for tumour-activated T cell engagers and conditionally active antibodycytokine fusions.

10:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:15 Presentation to be Announced
10:30 Grand Opening Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
57 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

ANTIBODY-BASED CELL THERAPIES
11:15 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Design and Engineering of TCR-Based
Immune Cell Engagers for Solid Tumour Indications
Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics AG
Soluble TCRs are a promising therapeutic modality combining intracellular antigen
targeting with favourable infiltration of solid tumours and off-the-shelf use. Despite their
therapeutic potential, the development of soluble TCR immune cell engagers is complicatedby multiple challenges relating to affinity, specificity, molecular format, and stability. Here
we describe AI-guided protein engineering as an effective approach to address soluble TCR
development challenges and deliver potent and safe picomolar affinity clinical candidates.

11:45 Overcoming the Challenges with Raising Antibodies against STEAP2 Extracellular
Domains for Targeted CAR T Cell Therapy
Dewald van Dyk, PhD, Associate Director, Biologics Engineering, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate-2 (STEAP2) is a complex membrane protein that is
highly expressed on prostate cancer cells with limited distal normal tissue expression. High species
homology and small extracellular domains makes STEAP2 a very challenging protein to target. I will
share reflections on the multifaceted discovery campaigns that enabled the isolation of STEAP2specific antibodies for the development of an armored STEAP2 chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Talk Title to be Announced
John Kenney, President, Antibody Solutions

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

OVERCOMING EFFICACY AND TOXICITY CHALLENGES
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, PhD, Co-Founder & CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics AG

13:50 4-1BB T Cell Engaging BsAb (Grabody T) Activated T Cells Only in the Tumour
Microenvironment and Demonstrated Superior Efficacy and Safety Profile
Sang Hoon Lee, PhD, CEO & Founder, ABL Bio Inc.
Stimulation of 4-1BB with agonistic antibodies is a promising strategy for immunotherapy. However,hepatotoxicity was observed in clinical trials with 4-1BB agonistic antibodies due to the activation of
4-1BB in liver cells. To avoid liver toxicity, we developed a novel BsAb, Grabody T by activating 4-1BB in
the presence of TAA within the tumor microenvironment. We will present the preclinical and Phase 1
data of multiple Grabody T based BsAbs.

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 5 NOVEMBERONCOLOGY
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ANTIBODY-BASEDCANCER THERAPIES
Driving Breakthrough Therapies
14:20 Immune Cell Engaging Bispecific Antibodies: Optimising Human Dose andDosing Regimen
Renu Singh, PhD, Director & Head, DMPK, Aurigene Oncology
The bispecific immune cell engaging antibodies have shown great promise both preclinically andclinically; however, finding right balance of efficacy and safety is very pivotal for clinical successof these bispecifics. Various considerations have to be taken into account for optimising clinicaldose, particularly species differences in target expression, target cell population, target biology. The
presentation will showcase challenges in optimisation of human dose of bispecific immune cell
engager antibodies.

14:50 First-in-Human (FIH) Dose Selection for Biologic Modalities
Celine Amara, Project Expert, DMPK, SanofiFirst-in-Human Dose Selection is a key consideration in the drug development of new drug candidates.
Such estimation is essential for the design of successful Phase 1 clinical trials. FIH dose is based on
the Regulatory requirements, and the strategy differs depending on the modality. This presentation
provides insights of challenges of the FIH dose estimation for 3 biologic molecules, i.e., a Monoclonal
Ab, an Antibody-Drug Conjugate, and an innovative Multispecific.

15:20 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:50 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

NOVEL TARGETS
16:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
17:05 Fucosyl-GM1: A Versatile Target for SCLC Therapy
Mireille Vankemmelbeke, PhD, Principal Scientist, Biodiscovery, Scancell, Ltd.
SCLC patients are faced with limited treatment options. T cell redirecting antibodies have shown great
promise in liquid tumours while ADC modalities have already delivered therapeutic benefit, but carefultarget selection is warranted for both. The tumour selectivity of the SCLC-associated glycolipid fucosylGM1, its expression being virtually absent in normal tissues, combined with evidence of functionality
across two modalities open the door additional targeted treatment options for SCLC patients.

17:35 The Identification of VNAR Theranostics Targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein
Aaron M. LeBeau, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology & Lab Medicine, University of Wisconsin Madison
Through the direct immunization of a nurse shark, we identified a suite of VNARs that were able toimage FAP-expressing cells in vivo by PET imaging and eliminate them when coupled to cytotoxins.
Using NGS, we developed a phylogenetic tree that allowed us to identify candidate VNARs withfavorable targeting properties. We also determined the cryo-EM structures of several VNARs bound to
FAP that demonstrated novel modes of target engagement.

58 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

18:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
18:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
19:35 Close of Antibody-Based Cancer Therapies Conference

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERONCOLOGYINAUGURAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING CONJUGATESDesigning the Magic Bullet

Wednesday 6 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ENHANCING PAYLOAD DELIVERY AND IMPROVINGTHERAPEUTIC INDEX
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Mahendra P. Deonarain, PhD, Chief Executive & Science Officer, Antikor Biopharma Ltd.

8:30 Strategies in ADC Development to Improve the Therapeutic Index

11:45 CEACAM5C, a Novel Topoisomerase I Inhibitor Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting
CEACAM5 with High Preclinical Anti-Tumour Activity in CRC, PDAC, GC, and Lung
Cancer Tumour Models
Yves Baudat, Senior Scientist, Immuno Oncology, Sanofi
CEACAM5 is a GPI glycoprotein expressed with a high prevalence on the cell surface of several
tumoural indications while normal tissue expression is limited. We developed a novel CEACAM5
topoisomerase I inhibitor antibody-drug conjugate with a DAR of 8 which is stable in circulation in
SCID mice and display an impressive overall response rate in single mouse trials of CRC, GC, and
NSCLC PDX models.

Justyna Mysliwy, PhD, Senior Director Research, Research, Iksuda Therapeutics
The number of ADCs showing promising outcomes in clinical trials is rapidly growing, offering
exciting opportunities for cancer patients. This presentation will outline the strategies for optimising
key components of ADC design to further enhance the efficacy and tolerability of ADCs. Novel linker
designs, payload selection, and DAR optimisation will be discussed.

12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)

9:00 MYTX-011: An Anti-cMET Antibody-Drug Conjugate Designed for Enhanced Payload
Delivery to cMET Expressing Tumour Cells

Horacio G. Nastri, PhD, Vice President, Protein Science and Technology, Incyte Corporation

Nimish Gera, PhD, Vice President, Biologics, Mythic Therapeutics
Attempts to improve the clinical utility of ADCs have focused on linker-payload, such as novel payloadclasses, increased DARs, and altering payload potency. However, limited efforts have been madeto enhance payload delivery via antibody engineering. We demonstrate that incorporation of pHdependent binding in an anti-cMET ADC can overcome the requirement for high cMET expression andpotentially benefit a broader population of cancer patients with lower cMET levels.

9:30 Preclinical Efficacy and Safety of a Novel Anti-CEA TOPO1i ADC M9140
Min Shan, PhD, Medicinal Chemist, Targeted Therapeutics, Merck KGaA

10:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:15 A Next-Generation ADC for Nectin-4 Expressing Tumours: Preclinical
Characterisation of IPH45, a Novel and Differentiated Exatecan-Based ADC
Targeting Nectin-4Caroline Soulas, PhD, Senior Project Manager, CMC, Innate Pharma
IPH45 is a novel exatecan-based anti-Nectin-4 ADC. Its hydrophilic profile, high DAR, and strong
bystander effect translate into better efficacy in low Nectin-4 expressing-tumour preclinical models anda longer half-life than enfortumab vedotin (EV), an approved anti-Nectin-4 MMAE-based ADC. IPH45
has the potential to have a broader therapeutic index than EV, improved safety and dosing regimen, andthe ability to overcome resistance to EV or MMAE-based ADCs.

59 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

NEXT-GENERATION ADC FORMATS
13:45 Chairperson’s Remarks
13:50 Format Matters for ADCs: Generation of Binder-Format-Payload Conjugate Matrices
by Antibody Chain Exchange
Ulrich Brinkmann, PhD, Expert Scientist, Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center,
MunichChain exchange approaches based on engineered domain interfaces generates binder-format matrices
for bispecific antibodies. Optimal bsAbs require combinations of compatible binders, optimised
stoichiometries and formats. Chain-exchange can also generate ADC matrices that combine binders,formats, attachment-positions, and payloads. Analyses of a Her2-binding ADC matrix with payloads
attached in different formats, positions and stoichiometries reveals that ‘format-defines-function’applies not only to bsAbs but also to ADCs.

14:20 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Novel Dual-Payload ADCs That Show
Excellent Biophysical Properties and High Efficacy in Vivo
Philipp Spycher, PhD, CEO, Araris Biotech AG
A novel conjugation approach will be introduced that enables the site-specificattachment of multiple payloads in one-step onto native antibodies at flexible DAR without theneed of antibody engineering or reduction step. The resulting ADCs show excellent biophysicalproperties with mAb-like PK in vivo and high anti-tumour efficacy. With the presented approach,multiple payloads can be delivered with the goal to improve efficacy and address tumour
drug resistance.

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERONCOLOGYINAUGURAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING CONJUGATESDesigning the Magic Bullet

14:50 Presentation to be Announced
15:20 Transition to Plenary Keynote Session

PLENARY DEEP DIVE
15:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer
Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research &Early Development, pRED

15:35 Immunotherapy Highlights
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb

Immunotherapy Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Roche Pharma Research & Early
Development, pRED
In the past, the field of therapeutic antibodies was dominated by monoclonal antibodies. Similarly,
today, antibody combinations have been approved and numerous antibody-based therapies
are combined in clinical trials. In the Plenary Fireside Chat “Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody
Development with Complex Modalities and Combinations,” renowned experts in the field will
discuss major breakthroughs and how the field will evolve in the years to come.
Panelists:
Taruna Arora, PhD, Formerly Vice President, Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.

16:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

NEXT-GENERATION ADC FORMATS
15:45 Multispecific Antibody Highlights
Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd

15:55 ADC Highlights
Hironori Matsunaga, PhD, Scientist, Discovery Research Lab I Group II, Daiichi
Sankyo Co., Ltd.

PLENARY PANEL
16:05 Shaping the Next Stage of Antibody Development with Complex Modalities andCombinations

Moderator: Christian Klein, PhD, Head, Oncology Programs and Department Head, Cancer

60 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

17:15 Antibody Fragment Drug Conjugates (FDCs): The Ideal Format to Target cMETExpressing Solid Tumours?
Mahendra P. Deonarain, PhD, Chief Executive & Science Officer, Antikor Biopharma Ltd.
FDCs promise advantages over ADCs including tumour penetration and faster clearance. ANT-045 is asolid tumour cMET-targeted FDC demonstrating superior tumour cure efficacy and tolerability comparedto the leading competitor ADC, in multiple models with supporting quantitative biodistribution,
micro-distribution imaging, stability, and toxicology data. In a non-GLP NHP study, ANT-045 was welltolerated with a predicted human half-life ~12h supporting a viable clinical dosing strategy and a wide
therapeutic window.

17:45 Potential of Bicycle Toxin Conjugates for the Treatment of Solid Tumours
Sandra Uhlenbroich, PhD, Associate Director, Biology, Bicycle Therapeutics
Bicyclic peptides (Bicycle molecules) offer a differentiated and innovative modality for targeted
delivery of cytotoxic payloads into tumours. Bicycle molecules exhibit high potency and selectivity
and may confer advantages over existing modalities, particularly their small size and favourable
pharmacokinetics profile. Bicycle Therapeutics is conducting clinical evaluation of BT8009, a Bicycle
Toxin Conjugate (BTC) targeting Nectin-4, and BT5528 targeting EphA2. Data demonstrating thepotential of these molecules will be presented.

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 6 NOVEMBERONCOLOGYINAUGURAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

ENGINEERING CONJUGATESDesigning the Magic Bullet

BISPECIFIC ADCs
18:15 Incorporation of an Ugi MCR as a Site-Selective Bioconjugation Method forProtein Modification
Ilias Koutsopetras, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, BioFunctional Chemistry Lab, University Of Strasbourg
Through an in-depth mechanistic methodology work supported by peptide mapping studies, wemanaged to develop a set of conditions allowing the highly selective modification of antibodies bearing
N-terminal glutamate and aspartate residues. We demonstrated that this strategy did not alter theiraffinity toward their target antigen and produced an antibody-drug conjugate with subnanomolar
potency and a bispecific antibody with the unprecedented 2:1 valency.

18:45 Development of a Bispecific Antibody Format Allowing for Drug Cargo Loading via aStrong Affinity (pM) scFv-Peptide Tag Interaction
Sara M. Mangsbo, PhD, Professor, Pharmacy, Uppsala University
We have developed an antibody format allowing for a rapid DAR=2 cargo loading by incorporation of
a scFv that binds to a tag with high affinity. Mixing the bispecific antibody with tagged cargo leads toinstant drug preparation and a stable antibody-drug conjugate formation. The tag can steer drug cargo
to the cytoplasm to optimise drug efficacy, so-called endosomal escape.

19:15 Target-Guided Site-Specific Delivery of a First-in-Class soloMER Drug Conjugate inAutoimmune Inflammation DiseaseObinna C. Ubah, PhD, Principal Scientist & Programme Lead, Elasmogen Ltd.
This presentation explores the development and engineering of soloMERs, a novel type of drug
conjugate, and its potential for therapeutic applications outside cancer treatment.

19:45 Close of Engineering Conjugates Conference

61 | PEGSummitEurope.com			ONCOLOGY STREAM | 7 NOVEMBERONCOLOGY
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

NEXT-GENERATIONIMMUNOTHERAPIES

Improving Immunotherapy Safety & Efficacy
Thursday 7 November
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee

ADOPTIVE CELL THERAPIES
8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Björn L. Frendeus, PhD, CSO, BioInvent International AB

8:30 Allogeneic Invariant Natural Killer T Cells—Update on MiNK’s Clinical Programs and
Next-Generation Pipeline
Marc A. van Dijk, PhD, CTO, MiNK Therapeutics, Inc.
MiNK Therapeutics has treated >80 patients to date with invariant natural killer T cells. We observed
durable clinical responses in heavily pre-treated individuals in both solid tumour cancer and in ARDS
secondary to viral infections, with a favourable safety profile (Nature Communications and Oncogene,2024). We will provide an update on our clinical and translational results to date and an outlook on our
next-generation CAR-iNKT program.

9:00 Advances in Gamma Delta T Cell-Targeting Bispecifics for the Treatment of Cancer
Pauline M. Van Helden, PhD, Director, Translational Research, Lava Therapeutics
Vγ9Vd2 T cells stand in between the innate- and adaptive-immune responses and constitute powerfulimmune effector-cell population amenable for cancer treatment. Bispecific T cell engagers (bsTCEs)
binding the Vd2 T cell receptor (TCR) and tumor-associated antigens (TAA) effectively trigger Vγ9Vd2 T
cells to lyse multiple type cancer cells, while sparing normal cells. Currently, a PSMA-targeting bsTCE isbeing evaluated in a phase 1/2a clinical trial in prostate cancer patients.

9:30 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

T CELL-ENGAGERS
10:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: HLA-Agnostic T Cell Receptor
Recognition of Cancer
Andrew Sewell, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor and Wellcome Trust Senior
Investigator, Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine
T-cell receptors (TCRs) on conventional T-cells can successfully clear solid cancers in somepatients but due to their human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restriction any given TCR-T treatment
is only applicable to a minority of patients. Fortunately, some cancer-specific TCRs are
not HLA-restricted. We have been examining TCRs that recognise a wide range of cancers

62 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

without requirement for a specific HLA. Do such TCRs provide hope for pan-cancer treatments
in all patients?

11:15 MAIT T Cell Engagers: An Effective and Safer Modality for the Treatment
of Solid Tumours
Simon Plyte, PhD, CSO, R&D, Biomunex Pharmaceuticals
Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells (MAITs) are an abundant, tissue/tumor resident, subset ofcytotoxic non-conventional T cells. Bi-specific antibody-mediated redirection of MAIT cells leads to theelimination of cancer cells with a potency identical to that of classical CD3e T cell engagers. However,unlike CD3e engagers, MAIT engagers do not cause widespread cytokine release and regulatory T cell
activation and afford a large therapeutic window, favouring treatment of solid tumors.

11:45 Targeting Dysregulated Metabolism of Tumours Using Affinity-Enhanced γ9δ2TCR
Engineered T Cells and Bispecific T Cell Engagers
Dennis Beringer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Center of Translational Immunology, University Medical CenterUtrecht
A wide range of tumour types can be recognized by γ9δ2T cells in in vitro experiments, however the low
affinity of γ9δ2TCR for their tumour antigens, the phosphoantigen dependent BTN2A1-BTN3A complex,
results in poor clinical outcomes. Using our γ9δ2TCR-antiCD3 TCE to screen for potency enhancing
mutations resulted in affinity enhanced γ9δ2TCRs with significantly enhanced tumor control, both invitro and in vivo, paving the way for next generation γ9δ2TCR-based immunotherapies.

12:15 LUNCHEON PRESENTATION: Combining Primary, Secondary, andTertiary Signals with Immune Cell Engagers to Supercharge
Anti-Tumor Immunity
Jijie Gu, President & CSO & Global Head, WuXi Biologics
Tapping into the natural T cell activation pathways of TCRs, co-stim molecules, and cytokines, WuXi
Biologics has developed 1) a clinical stage anti-CD3 antibody, whose binding kinetics balances
remarkable efficacy with low cytokine release; 2) Co-stim engagers to overcome immune-suppression;and 3) cytokine muteins with improved PK and safety to sustainably expand the immune effector cellpool. With these complementary Immune Cell Engager platforms and pharmacology service excellence,
we aim to enable clients to discover novel immune cell engagers with real clinical prospect

12:45 Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance for Poster Viewing

NEXT-GEN ANTIBODIES FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPIES
13:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
Giuseppe Roscilli, PhD, CTO & Director, Drug Evaluation & Monoclonal Antibody, Takis Srl

ONCOLOGY STREAM | 7 NOVEMBERONCOLOGY
2ND ANNUAL | BARCELONA, SPAIN

NEXT-GENERATIONIMMUNOTHERAPIES

Improving Immunotherapy Safety & Efficacy
14:00 Anti-TNFR2 for Cancer Immunotherapy
Björn L. Frendeus, PhD, CSO, BioInvent International AB
TNFR2 is a co-stimulatory receptor mediating pro- and anti-inflammatory activity in immune cells.
This talk will discuss mechanisms by which anti-TNFR2 mAbs regress large inflamed tumours andsynergize with anti-PD-1 to induce cures and robust antitumour CD8+ T cell immunity in syngeneic
mouse tumour models. Compelling evidence that the first-in-class anti-TNFR2 mAb (BI-1808) can besafely administered and has single-agent anti-tumour activity in difficult-to-treat cancer, e.g., GIST, will
also be shared.

14:30 Discovery of the IL-18 Receptor Antibody Agonist Biased to Immune Effector Cells
Melissa Geddie, PhD, Vice President Drug Discovery, Diagonal Therapeutics
While agonistic antibodies represent promising novel therapeutic avenues to treat human diseases, thelack of effective identification process has significantly hampered their discovery. Using the DIAGONAL
platform comprising experimental and computational approaches, we generated bispecific agonist
antibodies that activate IL-18 receptors directly, inducing IFN, while sparing myeloid cells, avoiding thetolerability issue associated with IL-18 and its muteins, thus offering an activity driven towards antitumour effects.

15:00 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
15:30 Networking Refreshment Break

THERAPEUTIC VACCINES
15:40 Optimisation of Neoantigen Targets for Shared and Personalised AntiCancer VaccinesMichelle Krogsgaard, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology and NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU
Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health
Neoantigens are emerging as the main determinants of tumour immunogenicity and efficacy of immune
checkpoint blockade, but their presence does not guarantee durable responses in patients with cancer.
Here we developed a comprehensive structure-function approach to identify the main characteristics of
neoantigens in melanoma and acute myeloid leukemia, originating from somatic mutations and frompost-translational modifications, affecting the outcome of checkpoint blockade.

IMMUNOCYTOKINES
16:10 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
16:40 Antibody-Cytokine Fusion Proteins for Cancer Therapy: Late-Stage Clinical Results
Dario Neri, PhD, CEO and CSO, Philogen; Professor, Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich
Cytokines are proteins that are capable of potently modulating the activity of the immune system. The
fusion of cytokines to tumour-homing antibodies has been shown to potently increase the therapeutic

63 | PEGSummitEurope.com			

index of the cytokine payload in animal models of cancer. In this lecture, I will present examples ofpotent therapeutic activity mediated by certain antibody-cytokine fusions, developed by Philogen, which
are now being studied in pivotal clinical trials

17:10 OSE-CYTOMASK: Cis-Demasking Cytokine Technology with Non-Cleavable Linker
Nicolas Poirier, PhD, CSO, OSE Immunotherapeutics
Masking cytokine technologies with enzymatic cleavable linkers allows activity on-demand at theright site but suffers from enzyme selectivity. Cis-delivery cytokine technologies allow redirectionof activity on the right cells but require potent cytokine attenuation for optimal cell selectivity. OSECytomask is a novel Cis-Demasking cytokine technology avoiding cytokine attenuation and cleavable
linkers to unmask cytokines on-demand on selective immune cell subsets expressing the appropriate
surface antigen.

17:40 Protein Engineering Using Novel Chemical Methods to Access PD1-Based
Immunocytokines
Arnaud Goepfert, PhD, Director, Protein Sciences, Bright Peak Therapeutics
Antibody-cytokine conjugates leverage orthogonal mechanisms-of-action (MoA) in one molecule toinduce potent antitumour immune responses. At Bright Peak, we generate immunocytokines throughsite-specific chemical conjugation of cytokine to “off-the-shelf” human IgG antibodies. During the talk, I
will focus on our PD-1-targeting conjugates and share compelling preclinical data supporting the future
development of BPT567, a PD1-IL18 immunocytokine.

18:10 Close of PEGS Europe Summit

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIESComprehensive sponsorship packages allow you to achieve
your objectives before, during, and long after the event. Signingon earlier will allow you to maximise exposure to hard-to-reachdecision-makers.

HOW SPONSORING PROMOTES &BENEFITS YOUR BUSINESS:PODIUM PRESENTATIONS - AVAILABLE WITHIN MAIN AGENDA!

• Generate qualified leads consisting of actual decisionmakers from within your focus area

Showcase your solutions to a guaranteed, targeted audience through a 15- or 30-minutepresentation during a specific conference program. Package includes exhibit space, onsite branding, and access to cooperative marketing efforts by CHI. Presentations do sellout early.

ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGSWork with us to identify your target prospects and we will schedule meetings foryou. Think of us as your inside sales team with all your hottest leads in close reach.
Opportunities sold on a very limited basis.

• Network with over 1,500+ senior-level professionals andgenerate leads during dedicated exhibit hall hours, lunches, etc.
• Promote your company’s participation in the conferencematerials• Increase your brand awareness and drive organic traffic toyour website through our various marketing campaigns• Increase Dedicated Networking Time in the Exhibit HallINVITATION-ONLY DINNER / HOSPITALITY SUITE
Sponsors will select their top prospects from the conference preregistration list for an
evening of networking at the hotel or at a choice local venue. CHI will extend invitations,conduct follow-up, and confirm attendees. The evening will be customised to meet withyour specific objectives.

EXHIBIT BOOTH SPACE (sold as part of sponsorship packages only)
Exhibitors will enjoy facilitated networking opportunities with over 1,500+ qualified
delegates, making it the perfect opportunity to launch a new product, collect feedback,and generate new leads from around the world.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING SPONSORSHIPAVAILABILITY, PLEASE CONTACT:ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIP & BRANDING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

COMPANIES A-K
Jason Gerardi
Sr. Manager, Business Development
781-972-5452 | jgerardi@healthtech.com• Hotel Room Keys
• Track Receptions• Game Card
• Footprint Trails• Conference Tote Bags

COMPANIES L-Z
Ashley Parsons
Manager, Business Development
781-972-1340 | ashleyparsons@healthtech.com• Literature Distribution (Tote Bag Insert or
Chair Drop)• Padfolios• Conference Material Advertisement

64 | PEGSummitEurope.com			64 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Hotel & Travel Information
CONFERENCE VENUE:
Montjuic Palau deCongressos - Fira Barcelona
Av. de la Reina Maria
Cristina, s/n
08004 Barcelona, Spain

Please visit pegsummiteurope.com/travel forreserving hotel accommodations and for additional Information.

HOST HOTELS:
Expo Hotel Barcelona
C/Mallorca, 1-23
Barcelona 08014, Spain

65 | PEGSummitEurope.com			Nobu Hotel Barcelona
Avenida de Roma 2-4
Barcelona, 08014, Spain