Anbogen Therapeutics and The University of Tokyo Enter Collaborative Research Agreement to Evaluate ABT-301 Across Multiple Tumor Types, Targeting Accelerated Human Clinical Indication Expansion
TAIPEI, Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Anbogen Therapeutics Inc. (TPEx: 7784) ("Anbogen" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage precision oncology company, today announced that it has entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) with the Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, to evaluate ABT-301 (Imofinostat), the Company's selective Class I histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), across multiple solid tumor types (including osteosarcoma, melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma, bladder cancers and other refractory solid tumors) using established veterinary oncology models.
The collaboration will be led by Lecturer Daiki Kato, Professor Takayuki Nakagawa, and Professor Manabu Mochizuki, Director of the Affiliated Veterinary Medical Center, The University of Tokyo. The research team brings extensive expertise in translational oncology, cancer immunotherapy, and genomic medicine in companion animals, and operates one of Asia's most comprehensive comparative oncology platforms.
Accelerating Human Clinical Development Through Comparative Oncology
The primary strategic objective of this collaboration is to generate the scientific evidence required to support the expansion of ABT-301's human clinical indications and to optimize the compound's combination strategies ahead of future clinical trials. Naturally occurring cancers in dogs are widely recognized as clinically and molecularly analogous to their human counterparts. Among these, canine osteosarcoma represents one of the most extensively studied comparative oncology models due to its remarkable biological and clinical similarities to human osteosarcoma. Insights generated from this naturally occurring disease provide a unique opportunity to evaluate therapeutic strategies at disease stages that are often difficult to study in early human clinical development, making canine data directly informative for human clinical trial design, patient selection strategies, and regulatory submissions. Using The University of Tokyo's proprietary preclinical models, the collaboration will evaluate ABT-301 as a monotherapy and in combination with other agents, with comprehensive mechanistic analyses to elucidate its mechanism of action and identify the molecular backgrounds most predictive of response. Findings will directly inform indication selection and combination regimen design for future human trials.
Dr. John Hsu, Chairman and CEO of Anbogen Therapeutics, said: "Comparative oncology is far more than animal research. It is a powerful platform for generating cross-species translational evidence that can bridge preclinical findings and human clinical development. Through this collaboration, we aim to evaluate ABT-301 in models that more closely reflect real-world disease biology, generating scientifically robust translational data to support future indication expansion and clinical development decisions. This strategic partnership will enable us to systematically assess ABT-301 across a broad range of difficult-to-treat solid tumors and extend its clinical potential beyond our current colorectal cancer program. The resulting evidence will be critical for designing and supporting the expansion of our ongoing human clinical development into new indications."
ABT-301 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial in combination with anti-PD-1 and anti-VEGF in patients with pMMR/non-MSI-High metastatic colorectal cancer. As an isoform-selective Class I HDACi, ABT-301 is designed to modulate the tumor immune microenvironment and sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint inhibition where lies the potential applicability across immunologically cold solid tumors. Importantly, independent Phase III clinical studies evaluating other HDAC inhibitors in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated significant synergistic efficacy in advanced cancers, including a marked improvement in progression-free survival (PFS). These external clinical findings provide strong proof-of-concept for the HDAC inhibitor–immune checkpoint inhibitor combination strategy and further support the clinical development of ABT-301 across multiple cancer indications.
Dr. Daiki Kato, The University of Tokyo, said: "Naturally occurring cancers in dogs and cats develop spontaneously under environmental and lifestyle conditions shared with humans and evolve through immune editing to acquire complex tumor immune microenvironments. These unique characteristics enable naturally occurring canine and feline cancer models to faithfully recapitulate key biological, immunological, and clinical features that are difficult to reproduce in conventional preclinical models. We believe this collaborative research will generate robust translational evidence to support the clinical development of ABT-301. Our research team is fully committed to maximizing the scientific impact of this collaboration and to providing the scientific evidence needed to support indication expansion and future clinical development of ABT-301."
About ABT-301 (Imofinostat)
ABT-301 is an orally available, selective Class I HDAC inhibitor designed to reverse immune evasion in solid tumors by enhancing antigen presentation and promoting anti-tumor immune activity. ABT-301 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial in combination with anti-PD-1 and anti-VEGF therapy for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The Company believes that ABT-301's mechanism of action has broad applicability across multiple immunotherapy-resistant solid tumor types.
About Anbogen Therapeutics
Anbogen Therapeutics Inc. (TPEx: 7784) is a Taiwan-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of precision oncology therapeutics for difficult-to-treat cancers. The Company's pipeline includes ABT-301, a selective HDAC inhibitor in Phase I/II clinical development, and the ABT-500 platform of targeted peptide-drug conjugates and radio-drug conjugates.
Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, The University of Tokyo
The Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, conducts translational research at the intersection of veterinary medicine and human oncology, with a focus on molecular targeted therapy, cancer immunotherapy, and genomic medicine. The laboratory maintains a comparative oncology platform comprising in vitro systems and in vivo canine and feline models, supported by an extensive library of canine and feline immortalized tumor cell lines and an active tumor organoid program. The laboratory has an established publication record in areas including immune checkpoint synergy and cell-based immunotherapy in companion animals, and has conducted multiple clinical trials in canine and feline cancer patients.
source: AnBogen Therapeutics