• Brings deep insight in tumor-specific Treg depletion for anti-CTLA-4 therapies delivered intratumorally to overcome dose dependent toxicities 
  
• Expertise contributes to Adagene’s novel anti-CTLA-4 therapies delivered systemically at higher and repeated doses with compelling safety 

SAN DIEGO and SUZHOU, China, March 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Adagene Inc. (“Adagene”) (Nasdaq: ADAG), a company transforming the discovery and development of antibody-based therapies, today announced the appointment of Professor Aurélien Marabelle, MD, PhD, to its Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board (the “SAB”). Professor Marabelle is a physician-scientist with expertise in oncology and immunology. His clinical practice is dedicated to early phase clinical trials of cancer immunotherapies with strong translational evidence within the Drug Development Department (DITEP) of Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in France. He leads a translational research laboratory (LRTI) within the INSERM U1015 with a focus on mechanisms of action of immune targeted therapies.

Professor Marabelle commented, “As CTLA-4 is upregulated on the membrane of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) upon T-cell receptor engagement, it is therefore an opportunity to target and deplete tumor-specific Tregs specifically within the tumor microenvironment (TME) for this proven pathway. Adagene’s SAFEbody precision masking technology enables systemic delivery of CTLA-4 treatment similar to intratumoral delivery to reach a higher concentration at the tumor site, enabling tumor-specific Treg depletion for effective immunotherapy.”

In addition to his clinical and translational research, Professor Marabelle is also the director of the Clinical Investigation Center BIOTHERIS dedicated to intratumoral immunotherapies (INSERM CIC1428). He is a full professor of Clinical Immunology at the University of Paris Saclay. He was initially trained as a scientist in the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon and King’s College London and as a clinician at the Léon Bérard Cancer Center in Lyon, France. He did his post-doctoral research fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Ronald Levy at Stanford University on strategies to overcome the resistance to immune checkpoint targeted therapies. Professor Marabelle is also an active member of ESMO, ASCO, AACR, SITC, EATI and is the current President of the French Society for Cancer Immunotherapies (FITC). He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed publications.

“Professor Aurélien Marabelle pioneered the intratumoral delivery of anti-CTLA-4 therapy in clinic as a way to overcome the safety issues of anti-CTLA-4 therapy delivered systemically. This approach increased the effective concentration of anti-CTLA-4 in the TME to achieve statistically significant tumor-specific Treg depletion as a key driver for anti-CTLA-4 therapy, following Professor Marabelle’s years of preclinical and translation studies,” said Peter Luo, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Adagene. “Reflecting the vanguard of science at Adagene, we have persistently pursued and implemented seamless translational studies using the same molecules targeting the same epitope across different species for our anti-CTLA-4 programs. We have observed an excellent correlation from both programs, ADG116 and ADG126, in safety and efficacy both as single agents and in combination with anti-PD-1 in our ongoing phase 1b/2 studies. Professor Marabelle’s deep expertise in translational and biomarker-driven trial design in anti-CTLA-4 therapy will help further strengthen our understanding of tumor-specific Treg depletion in the development of our novel anti-CTLA-4 therapies with strong safety and tumor-specific Treg depletion through systemic delivery.”

For more information about members of the Adagene Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board, visit: https://www.adagene.com/about/key-advisors/

About Adagene

Adagene Inc. (Nasdaq: ADAG) is a platform-driven, clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to transforming the discovery and development of novel antibody-based cancer immunotherapies. Adagene combines computational biology and artificial intelligence to design novel antibodies that address unmet patient needs. Powered by its proprietary Dynamic Precision Library (DPL) platform, composed of NEObody™, SAFEbody^®, and POWERbody™ technologies, Adagene’s highly differentiated pipeline features novel immunotherapy programs. Adagene has forged strategic collaborations with reputable global partners that leverage its technology in multiple approaches at the vanguard of science.

For more information, please visit: https://investor.adagene.com. Follow Adagene on WeChat, LinkedIn and Twitter.  

SAFEbody^® is a registered trademark in the United States, China, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the European Union.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the potential implications of clinical data for patients, and Adagene’s advancement of, and anticipated clinical activities, clinical development, regulatory milestones, and commercialization of its product candidates. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including but not limited to Adagene’s ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or regulatory approval; the content and timing of decisions made by the relevant regulatory authorities regarding regulatory approval of Adagene’s drug candidates; Adagene’s ability to achieve commercial success for its drug candidates, if approved; Adagene’s ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its technology and drugs; Adagene’s reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing and other services; Adagene’s limited operating history and Adagene’s ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development and commercialization of its drug candidates; Adagene’s ability to enter into additional collaboration agreements beyond its existing strategic partnerships or collaborations, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Adagene’s clinical development, commercial and other operations, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors” section in Adagene’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Adagene, and Adagene undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.