Xilio is developing tumor-selective cytokines and antibodies for patients with cancer

Our proprietary protein engineering technology is applicable to cytokines and antibodies enabling them to act selectively on tumors instead of peripheral non-tumor tissues. We are focused on developing new medicines for the most promising targets.
To engineer our tumor-selective therapies, we start with a highly potent cytokine or antibody which is then inactivated by fusing it to a “blocking domain”. The blocking domain contains a cleavage site that can be cut by a protein called a protease. The blocking domain inhibits the binding of the molecule to its target(s) thereby inhibiting the function of the molecule until it is cleaved by the proteases which are found predominantly in the tumor microenvironment. This results in a tumor-selective biologic. This approach is intended to bring the benefits of immuno-oncology therapies to patients by minimizing toxicity while enhancing anti-tumor efficacy.