New T-cell engager shows promise for advanced solid tumors

MedicalXpress | mai 31, 2026

As part of a clinical study, the Early Clinical Trial Unit (ECTU) at NCT/UCC Dresden tested the cancer immunotherapy IMA401 for the first time in patients with advanced solid tumors. IMA401 is a so-called bispecific T-cell engager (TCER) that specifically links cancer cells with T cells, thereby directly activating the immune system to fight the tumor. To achieve this, the molecule simultaneously binds to two targets: a protein produced in tumor cells known as the tumor antigen MAGEA4/8, and a molecule on the surface of the body's immune cells (CD3). These immune cells, known as T lymphocytes, are thereby directed specifically to the tumor locations and activated so that they can destroy the cancer cells.