FairJourney Bio engineers tumour-conditional IL-12 switch to improve therapeutic window
FairJourney Bio has developed a novel antibody-based 'switch' mechanism to conditionally activate IL-12 in solid tumors. This approach aims to reduce systemic toxicity by ensuring the cytokine only becomes active in the presence of specific tumor-associated antigens.
Why it matters
This technology could significantly improve the therapeutic window for potent cancer immunotherapies, potentially making previously unusable cytokines safe for clinical use.
The CRO FairJourney Bio (FJBio) has contributed antibody discovery and engineering expertise to a novel approach for conditionally activating interleukin-12 (IL-12) in solid tumours, potentially addressing one of the key barriers to developing the potent cytokine as an oncology therapeutic .
The approach — described in a peer-reviewed study published in mAbs — uses a reversible antibody-based “switch” to keep IL-12 masked in systemic circulation and release its activity in the presence of fibronectin extra-domain B (FN-EDB), a tumour-associated extracellular matrix antigen.
IL-12 has demonstrated strong anti-tumour activity, but its clinical development has been constrained by severe systemic toxicity .
Previous approaches to improve its therapeutic window have included intratumoural administration, half-life extension and protease-cleavable prodrugs, with limited clinical success.
The Switch-IL-12 format comprises a dual-specificity Fab “switch arm” that binds competitively to either tethered IL-12 or FN-EDB, alongside a separate high-affinity FN-EDB targeting arm.
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