Elicio Therapeutics merges with Angion Biomedica to focus on cancer vaccines and immunotherapies

Elicio Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech, is merging with Angion Biomedica Corp to form a company that will focus on immunotherapies using Elicio’s proprietary lymph node-targeting Amphiphile (AMP) technology.

As part of the deal announced Tuesday, the combined company will continue using the Elicio Therapeutics name.

Once the company is combined, Elicio CEO Robert Connelly will continue to lead the company and Elicio’s current executive team will serve as the new organization’s executive team. Company headquarters will be based in Boston.

Per transaction details, Angion stockholders will own about 34.5% of the new company, while Elicio stockholders will own 65.5%. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023.

Elicio’s lead drug candidate is currently a cancer vaccine that tackles mKRAS-driven tumors, known as ELI-002. It’s in a Phase I trial for people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and colorectal cancer, known as AMPLIFY-201. A Phase Ib/2 trial is planned for later in 2023.

“The merger with Angion comes at an ideal time with ELI-002 now completing the dose escalation portion of Phase I clinical studies in patients,” Connelly said in a statement.

According to a company press release, Elicio’s AMP platform can help develop a variety of treatment modalities like therapeutic vaccines, adjuvants and proprietary cell therapy AMPlifers. The technology works by bringing immunomodulatory payloads – like peptides, proteins and nucleic acids – into the lymph node, which can potentially enhance a therapeutic immune response.

“We believe Elicio is at the forefront of changing the tide regarding how cancers with these mutations, which account for 25% of human solid tumors, are treated,” Connelly added.

The move comes after a series of setbacks for Angion in 2022, including the halting of a Phase II trial in kidney disease. In June last year, the company announced the decision to discontinue the trial was based on patient safety issues.

A month later, the biotech halted most of its development activities and explored new strategic pathways to save its $60 million in cash and cash equivalents.

“We see tremendous potential in the AMP platform and ELI-002, right at a time when the oncology community is rediscovering the value of cancer vaccines,” Angion CEO Jay Venkatesan said in a statement.