Our Mission
Anwita Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are advancing our product pipeline of improved cytokines (Exenokines, Mableukins etc) and tumor-targeting antibody drug conjugates. Our first product, Exenokine-21 is in Phase 1 studies in China and Taiwan. We are also conducting a Phase 1 study for our anti-PD-1/IL2c fusion protein in Australia.
Our mission is to deliver transformative treatment options to improve the lives of patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. We specialize in the discovery and development of optimized immunotherapeutics, leveraging our core expertise in cancer immunotherapy, bioinformatics, and target-based protein evolution.
Science
Technology
Anwita’s core technology integrates structure-guided AccuKine cytokine evolution and AccuBody discovery of full spectrum nanobodies and antibodies, enabling the development of fully optimized cytokine fusions with superior therapeutic potential, favorable safety profile and great developmentability. Our unique product portfolio includes half-live extended Exenokines, immune cell- or tumor cell-targeting Mableukines, and bi-functional Duoleukins. These new generation of cytokines could serve as powerful novel immune therapies with a wide range of applications in treating patients with cancers and autoimmune diseases.
Publications
- Wu S. et al. The Half-Life-Extended IL21 can Be Combined With Multiple Checkpoint Inhibitors for Tumor Immunotherapy. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Nov 15;9:779865. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.779865. PMID: 34869384; PMCID: PMC8634682. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34735918/
- Liu H. et al. An engineered IL-21 with half-life extension enhances anti-tumor immunity as a monotherapy or in combination with PD-1 or TIGIT blockade. Int Immunopharmacol. 2021 Dec;101(Pt A):108307. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108307. Epub 2021 Nov 1. PMID: 34735918. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34735918/
- Ye F. et al. A safe and highly potent anti-PD1-IL-2C fusion that decouples efficacy and toxicity of IL-2 therapy. https://anwitabio.com/aacr-poster.png
- Cheng X. et al. Exenokine-2: a half-life extended no-α-IL-2 with improved preclinical pharmacological properties supports first-in-human clinical development. https://anwitabio.com/events/2022/sitc/poster/exn-2.pdf
- Huang Z. et al. A highly potent anti-LAG-3-IL-2C that selectively targets tumor specific CD8+ T cells. https://anwitabio.com/events/2022/sitc/poster/lag3-il2.pdf
- Ye F. et al. A Safe and Highly Potent αPD1-IL2 Fusion (AWT020) that Decouples the Efficacy and Toxicity of IL-2 Therapy. https://anwitabio.com/events/2022/sitc/poster/pd1-il2.pdf
- Ye F. et al. Synergistic enhancement of immunogenic cell death: Combining AWT020 with antibody-drug conjugates for superior anti-tumor activity. https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2025-4774
- Ye F. et al. AWT020: a novel fusion protein harnessing PD-1 blockade and selective IL-2 Cis-activation for enhanced anti-tumor immunity and diminished toxicity. Front. Immunol. 16:1537466. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1537466
Pipeline
Program
MOA
Patient Population
Preclinical
Lead ID
Lead OP
IND Enabling
Phase 1
Targeted Cytokines
AWT020NSCLC, GI and gynecological cancers
aPD1-IL-2c (AWT020) is a targeted fusion protein comprised of an anti-PD1 antibody linked to a potency optimized IL-2Na The IL-2Na component of the fusion protein has been engineered to have low systemic toxicity. The anti-PD1 antibody component not only serves to block the interaction between PD1 and PD-L1 but also functions to selectively deliver the potency optimized IL-2Na to PD1+ T cells within the tumor microenvironment. In preclinical studies, aPD1-IL-2c demonstrated superior single-agent antitumor activity with robust immunological memory accompanied by preferential activation and expansion of functional intratumoral T cells. The antitumor activity of aPD1-IL-2c is driven by CD8+ T cells. In contrast to competitors’ products, aPD1-IL-2c is devoid of NK cell dependent toxicity. In non-human primates, aPD1-IL-2c is well tolerated at dose levels that support the clinical plan. World-wide rights are available for partnership.
PD-1 and IL-2
NSCLC, GI and gynecological cancers
LAG-3 and IL-2
Melanoma combined with aPD-1; CART
ADCs
EGFR and HER3
NSCLC; CRC
VEGF and PD-L1
Solid tumors
T-cell Engagers
BCMA, CD19, CD3
Hematological autoimmune disease
Multiple Targets
Solid tumors
Cancer Cachexia
GDF15 and IL-6
Solid tumors
Click or tap on any Program to read more about that project.
Our Leadership
News
Date: June 24th, 2019
Strategic collaboration between Anwita Biosciences and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences whereby Junshi was granted the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Anwita's Exenokine-21 program in the Greater China territories.
Date: September 30th, 2020
Anwita Biosciences and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences entered into a new collaboration in which Junshi was granted the exclusive rights to Anwita's Exenokine-2, an improved IL-2 variant with extended half-life, in the Greater China territories.
Date: June 28th, 2021
Anwita Biosciences, Inc. Completes $18.5 Million Series B Financing to Advance Its Improved Cytokines (Exenokines) And Tumor Targeting Antibody Drug Conjugates
Date: October 29th, 2021
Anwita Biosciences, Inc. Announces Initiation of first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of Exenokine-21 for monotherapy and combination, earns $2.5 million milestone for IND acceptance from Partner Shanghai Junshi Biosciences
Date: March 15th, 2022
Anwita Biosciences, Inc. announces presentation on Mableukine-2PD1 at the 2022 annual American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting.
Date: September 21st, 2022
Anwita Biosciences Announced Today Dosing of First Patient in Its Phase I Clinical Trial of JS014, a Half-life Extended IL-21, for the Treatment of Solid Tumors
Date: October 5th, 2022
Anwita Biosciences, Inc. Announces Multiple Poster Presentations Showcasing Its Three Cytokine-Based Therapeutics at 37th Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2022 Annual Meeting
Careers
Openings
Scientist
Contribute to experimental planning, implementation, and data analysis; Independently design plasmid maps, primers and cloning strategies for antibodies and fusion proteins; Use ExpiCHO transient transfection and expression system to produce new proteins; Purify protein from ExpiCHO expression system and use analytical instrument including HPLC, AKTA to characterize protein quantity, quality and purity; Design mutations to change certain property of target protein, including receptor binding, stability and productivity; Use Octet Red96 instrument to perform binding assays and measure the dissociation constant; Perform cell based binding and functional screening assays to ID target specific antibody binders; Generate stable expression cell lines for cell based assays using pAS-puro vector and puromycin selection; Support antibody discovery team and perform phage display library construction and screening; Design and perform cell based assays, including cell surface staining, signaling assay and flow cytometry; Prepare reports and present in weekly group meeting.
- Master's Degree (or foreign equivalent) in Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, or related field
- 2 years of experience in a research position in a biotechnology company. Position may require experience with:
- molecular cloning
- protein purification and characterization
- cell culture
Benefits
- Competitive compensation
- Stock options at all levels
- 401(K) plan
- Official holidays
- Generous paid time off (PTO)
- Sick days
- Medical plan
- Dental plan
- Visional plan
- Life insurance
Contact
Company Address:
300 Industrial Road,
San Carlos, CA 94070
Phone: (650) 600-9828
Email: contact@anwitabio.com