NEWS

We’ve been busy. Catch up on the latest news, updates and happenings at Synthekine.

Press Releases Posters and Publications

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First Patient Dosed in SYNERGY-101, a Global, Randomized Phase 2 Clinical Trial of STK-012 in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

November 21, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

November 13, 2025

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of STK-012 Plus Pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

November 6, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

November 7, 2025

Synthekine Announces Late-Breaking Oral Presentation of Initial Clinical Data of STK-012 Plus Pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous NSCLC at SITC 2025 Annual Meeting

October 29, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

October 30, 2025

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1 Clinical Trial of CD19 CAR-T (SYNCAR-001) and Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) Combination Therapy for Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies at ASH 2024 Annual Meeting

December 9, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

December 9, 2024

Synthekine to Present Preclinical Data for CD19 CAR-T (SYNCAR-001) Empowered by Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) Without Lymphodepletion at American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2024

November 15, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

November 15, 2024

Synthekine Announces Presentation of New Translational Data from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 39th Annual Meeting

November 8, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

November 8, 2024

Synthekine Granted U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation for CD19 CAR-T and Orthogonal IL-2 Investigational Therapy, SYNCAR-001 + STK-009, for the Treatment of Lupus Without Lymphodepletion

September 4, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

September 4, 2024

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, for Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors

April 8, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

April 9, 2024

Synthekine Announces U.S. FDA Clearance of IND Application for CD19 CAR-T and Orthogonal IL-2 Combination Therapy, SYNCAR-001 + STK-009, for Treatment of Lupus Without Lymphodepletion

March 20, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

March 26, 2024

Synthekine Announces Presentation of Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of STK-012 at AACR 2024 Annual Meeting

March 6, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

March 7, 2024

Synthekine Appoints Geoff Nosrati, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer and Announces Executive Leadership Changes

February 20, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

February 21, 2024

Synthekine Announces Strategic Collaboration with Sanofi to Develop Selective IL-10 Agonists for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases

January 25, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

January 29, 2024

Synthekine Presents Preclinical Data at SITC 38th Annual Meeting Demonstrating its IL-12 Partial Agonist, STK-026, Significantly Expands Therapeutic Window

November 2, 2023/in 2023, news/by eallison

November 3, 2023

First Patient Dosed in Phase 1b Clinical Trial of Synthekine’s α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, for Treatment of Solid Tumors

September 27, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

September 28, 2023

Synthekine Doses First Patient in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Orthogonal IL-2 and CD19 CAR-T Combination Therapy, STK-009 + SYNCAR-001, for Treatment of CD19+ Hematologic Malignancies

July 26, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

July 27, 2023

Synthekine Announces Presentations at AACR 2023 Annual Meeting Showcasing Next Series of Oncology Programs

April 11, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

April 12, 2023

Synthekine Secures $100 Million Series C Financing to Advance Pipeline of Engineered Cytokine Therapeutics

January 5, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

January 6, 2023

Fierce Biotech names Synthekine as one of its “Fierce 15” Biotech Companies of 2022

September 12, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

September 12, 2022

Synthekine Announces Multiple Poster Presentations Showcasing Its Three Distinct Cytokine Engineering Platforms at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2022 Annual Meeting

April 7, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

April 7, 2022

Synthekine Doses First Patient in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, for Treatment of Solid Tumors

February 3, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

February 3, 2022

Synthekine Announces Publication of Preclinical Data Demonstrating In Vivo Control of CD19 CAR-T Cells with its Orthogonal IL-2 System

December 23, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

December 23, 2021

Synthekine Establishes Collaboration with Merck to Develop Therapeutic Candidates Using its Proprietary Surrogate Cytokine Agonist Platform

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

November 1, 2021

Synthekine Advances IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, into Clinical Investigation for Treatment of Solid Tumors

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

October 28, 2021

Synthekine Announces $107.5 Million Oversubscribed Series B Financing to Support Lead Programs to Clinical Proof of Concept, Advance Preclinical Programs and Platform

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

June 10, 2021

Synthekine Expands Board of Directors, Management Team and Scientific Advisory Board with New Key Appointments

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

June 3, 2021

Synthekine Appoints Internationally Recognized Cancer Immunotherapy Leader Naiyer Rizvi, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

May 3, 2021

Synthekine Licenses Additional Cytokine Programs

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

April 22, 2021

Synthekine Presents Data at AACR Annual Meeting 2021 Demonstrating Selective IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, Promotes Anti-Tumor Response without Related Toxicities

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

April 10, 2021

Synthekine Strengthens Leadership with Board of Directors Expansion and Scientific Advisory Board Formation

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

February 4, 2021

Synthekine Presents Data at American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting Showing Orthogonal IL-2 Ligand Drives Deeper and More Durable Response of CD-19 CAR-T

November 16, 2021/in 2020, news/by David Anderson

December 7, 2020

Synthekine Launches with $82 Million Series A Financing to Advance Pipeline of Engineered Cytokine Therapeutics Optimized for Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases

November 16, 2021/in 2020, news/by David Anderson

September 17, 2020

2025-2023

First Patient Dosed in SYNERGY-101, a Global, Randomized Phase 2 Clinical Trial of STK-012 in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

November 21, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

November 13, 2025

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of STK-012 Plus Pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

November 6, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

November 7, 2025

Synthekine Announces Late-Breaking Oral Presentation of Initial Clinical Data of STK-012 Plus Pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous NSCLC at SITC 2025 Annual Meeting

October 29, 2025/in 2025, news/by David Anderson

October 30, 2025

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1 Clinical Trial of CD19 CAR-T (SYNCAR-001) and Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) Combination Therapy for Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies at ASH 2024 Annual Meeting

December 9, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

December 9, 2024

Synthekine to Present Preclinical Data for CD19 CAR-T (SYNCAR-001) Empowered by Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) Without Lymphodepletion at American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2024

November 15, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

November 15, 2024

Synthekine Announces Presentation of New Translational Data from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 39th Annual Meeting

November 8, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

November 8, 2024

Synthekine Granted U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation for CD19 CAR-T and Orthogonal IL-2 Investigational Therapy, SYNCAR-001 + STK-009, for the Treatment of Lupus Without Lymphodepletion

September 4, 2024/in 2024, news/by Jake Robison

September 4, 2024

Synthekine Presents Positive Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, for Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors

April 8, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

April 9, 2024

Synthekine Announces U.S. FDA Clearance of IND Application for CD19 CAR-T and Orthogonal IL-2 Combination Therapy, SYNCAR-001 + STK-009, for Treatment of Lupus Without Lymphodepletion

March 20, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

March 26, 2024

Synthekine Announces Presentation of Initial Results from Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial of STK-012 at AACR 2024 Annual Meeting

March 6, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

March 7, 2024

Synthekine Appoints Geoff Nosrati, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer and Announces Executive Leadership Changes

February 20, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

February 21, 2024

Synthekine Announces Strategic Collaboration with Sanofi to Develop Selective IL-10 Agonists for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases

January 25, 2024/in 2024, news/by eallison

January 29, 2024

Synthekine Presents Preclinical Data at SITC 38th Annual Meeting Demonstrating its IL-12 Partial Agonist, STK-026, Significantly Expands Therapeutic Window

November 2, 2023/in 2023, news/by eallison

November 3, 2023

First Patient Dosed in Phase 1b Clinical Trial of Synthekine’s α/β Biased IL-2, STK-012, for Treatment of Solid Tumors

September 27, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

September 28, 2023

Synthekine Doses First Patient in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Orthogonal IL-2 and CD19 CAR-T Combination Therapy, STK-009 + SYNCAR-001, for Treatment of CD19+ Hematologic Malignancies

July 26, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

July 27, 2023

Synthekine Announces Presentations at AACR 2023 Annual Meeting Showcasing Next Series of Oncology Programs

April 11, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

April 12, 2023

Synthekine Secures $100 Million Series C Financing to Advance Pipeline of Engineered Cytokine Therapeutics

January 5, 2023/in 2023, news/by David Anderson

January 6, 2023

2022-2020

Fierce Biotech names Synthekine as one of its “Fierce 15” Biotech Companies of 2022

September 12, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

September 12, 2022

Synthekine Announces Multiple Poster Presentations Showcasing Its Three Distinct Cytokine Engineering Platforms at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2022 Annual Meeting

April 7, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

April 7, 2022

Synthekine Doses First Patient in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, for Treatment of Solid Tumors

February 3, 2022/in 2022, news/by David Anderson

February 3, 2022

Synthekine Announces Publication of Preclinical Data Demonstrating In Vivo Control of CD19 CAR-T Cells with its Orthogonal IL-2 System

December 23, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

December 23, 2021

Synthekine Establishes Collaboration with Merck to Develop Therapeutic Candidates Using its Proprietary Surrogate Cytokine Agonist Platform

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

November 1, 2021

Synthekine Advances IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, into Clinical Investigation for Treatment of Solid Tumors

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

October 28, 2021

Synthekine Announces $107.5 Million Oversubscribed Series B Financing to Support Lead Programs to Clinical Proof of Concept, Advance Preclinical Programs and Platform

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

June 10, 2021

Synthekine Expands Board of Directors, Management Team and Scientific Advisory Board with New Key Appointments

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

June 3, 2021

Synthekine Appoints Internationally Recognized Cancer Immunotherapy Leader Naiyer Rizvi, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

May 3, 2021

Synthekine Licenses Additional Cytokine Programs

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

April 22, 2021

Synthekine Presents Data at AACR Annual Meeting 2021 Demonstrating Selective IL-2 Partial Agonist, STK-012, Promotes Anti-Tumor Response without Related Toxicities

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

April 10, 2021

Synthekine Strengthens Leadership with Board of Directors Expansion and Scientific Advisory Board Formation

November 16, 2021/in 2021, news/by David Anderson

February 4, 2021

Synthekine Presents Data at American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting Showing Orthogonal IL-2 Ligand Drives Deeper and More Durable Response of CD-19 CAR-T

November 16, 2021/in 2020, news/by David Anderson

December 7, 2020

Synthekine Launches with $82 Million Series A Financing to Advance Pipeline of Engineered Cytokine Therapeutics Optimized for Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases

November 16, 2021/in 2020, news/by David Anderson

September 17, 2020

Initial Phase 1a/1b Results of STK-012, an α/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist, with Pembrolizumab, Pemetrexed, and Carboplatin in 1L PD-L1 Negative Non-squamous NSCLC

2025 – SITC

STK-012, a First-in-Class ⍺/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist Enhances the Anti-Tumor Efficacy of Bispecific Antibodies

2025 – SITC

T cell and Immune Activation from a Phase 1 Study of STK-012, a first-in-class IL-2R α/β Selective Partial Agonist in Advanced Solid Tumors

2024 – SITC

STK-012, a First-in-Class α/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist for the Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors

2024 – ICIS

STK-012, a First-in-Class α/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist in Advanced Solid Tumors – Initial Results of a Phase 1 study

2024 – The Promise of Interleukin-2 Therapy

STK-012: a First-in-Class α/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist in Advanced Solid Tumors

2024 – KCRS

Initial Results From a Phase 1a/1b Study of STK-012, a First-in-Class α/β IL-2 Receptor Biased Partial Agonist in Advanced Solid Tumors (NCT05098132)

2024 – AACR

STK-012: An Engineered Selective IL-2 Mutein That Promotes Anti-Tumor Responses Without Related Toxicities

2023 – PEGS Summit

STK-012, an α/β-selective IL-2 activates tumor antigen specific CD25+ CD8 T cells to reject tumors without acute vascular toxicity

2023 – AACR

A Phase 1a/1b study of STK-012, an α/β IL-2 receptor selective partial agonist as monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors (NCT05098132)

2022 – AACR

STK-012, an alpha/beta selective IL-2 mutein for the activation of antigen-activated T cells in solid tumors

2021 – AACR

Orthogonal IL-2

SYNCAR: An Engineered IL-2/IL-2R-system that Selectively Enhances CD19 CAR T cells to Deplete B Cells and Provide Therapeutic Benefit in SLE and RA Mouse Models Without Lymphodepletion

2025 – Keystone Symposia

Orthogonal IL-2/IL-2Rβ Armoring is Superior to TGF-β Receptor Blockade in Overcoming TGF-β-Driven Inhibition of GPC3 CAR T Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2025 – ASGCT

A Phase 1 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of a Combination Autologous CD19 CAR T Cell Therapy (SYNCAR-001) and Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) in Subjects with Relapsed or Refractory CD19 expressing Hematologic Malignancies

2024 – ASH

SYNCAR: An Engineered IL-2/IL-2R-system that Selectively Enhances CD19 CAR T cells to Deplete B Cells and Provide Therapeutic Benefit in SLE and RA Mouse Models Without Lymphodepletion

2024 – ACR

An Orthogonal IL-2/IL-2R-System Enhances Engineered T Cell Therapies Via a Durable Synthetic Effector State

2024 – ICIS

Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rβ orthogonal pairs selectively enhance CAR T cells to drive complete responses in hematological and solid epithelial tumor models

2024 – PEGS Summit

Orthogonal IL-2/IL-2Rβ Signaling Selectively Enhances and Sustains a Synthetic Effector State And Outperforms Constitutive Armoring Approaches

2024 – AACR

Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rβ orthogonal pairs selectively enhance CAR T cells to drive complete responses in hematological and solid epithelial tumor models

2023 – PEGS Europe

A Phase 1 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of a Combination Autologous CD19 CAR T Cell Therapy (SYNCAR-001) and Orthogonal IL-2 (STK-009) in Subjects With Relapsed or Refractory CD19 expressing Hematologic Malignancies

2023 – AACR

Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rβ orthogonal pairs selectively enhance anti-GPC3 CAR T cells to drive complete responses in solid epithelial tumor models

2023 – Keystone Symposia

Orthogonal IL-2/IL-2Rβ signaling in adoptively transferred T cells controls tumor growth without the need for lymphodepletion in a B16 tumor model

2022 – AACR

Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rβ orthogonal pairs selectively enhance anti-GPC3 CAR T cells to drive complete responses in solid epithelial tumor models

2022 – AACR

An orthogonal IL-2 and IL-2Rb system drives persistence and activation of CAR T cells and clearance of bulky lymphoma

2021 – Science Translational Medicine

OrthoIL2 signaling in ACT controls tumor growth without the need for lymphodepletion

2021 – SITC Pre-Conference Program

Selective expansion of regulatory T cells using an orthogonal IL-2/IL-2 receptor system facilitates transplantation tolerance

2021 – The Journal of Clinical Investigation

OrthoCARs: Engineered IL-2/IL-2Rβ orthogonal pairs that selectively enhance CAR T cell function in vivo

2021 – AACR

OrthoCARs: Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rb orthogonal pairs selectively enhance CAR T cell antitumor efficacy

2020 – ASH

OrthoCARs: Engineered human IL-2/IL-2Rb orthogonal pairs selectively enhance CAR T cell anti-tumor efficacy and durability of response

2020 – AACR

Selective targeting of engineered T cells using orthogonal IL-2 cytokine-receptor complexes

2018 – Science

IL-12

STK-026, a detoxified IL-12 partial agonist is well-tolerated and sustains CD8+ T cell activity with repeat doses in cynomolgus macaques

2024 – SITC

Gradual lymphocyte activation with IL-12 partial agonist STK-026 maintains anti-tumor efficacy and escapes acute NK-mediated cytokine release and toxicities associated with WT IL-12

2024 – SITC

Preclinical Pharmacodynamic Characterization of STK-026: A Novel IL-12 Partial Agonist for Cancer with Maintained CD8 T cell activity, Reduced NK-mediated Toxicity and an Improved Therapeutic Window

2023 – SITC

Novel IL-12 partial agonist for cancer immunotherapy avoids NK-cell mediated toxicity

2023 – AACR

Structural basis for IL-12 and IL-23 receptor sharing reveals a gateway for shaping actions on T versus NK cells

2021 – Cell

IL-10

IL-10 surrogate cytokine agonists (SCAs) tune receptor signaling and engineer cell type specificity

2023 – ICIS

Structure-based decoupling of the pro- and anti-inflammatory functions of interleukin-10

2021 – Science

IL-22

Novel Interleukin-22 Surrogate Cytokine Agonists Improve Metabolic Syndrome

2025 – Obesity Week

Novel Interleukin-22 Partial Agonists Improve Metabolic Syndrome In Vivo

2025 – ADA

The tissue protective functions of interleukin-22 can be decoupled from pro-inflammatory actions through structure-based design

2021 – Immunity

IL-18

IL-18 Surrogate Cytokine Agonists (SCAs): Overcoming Limitations of IL-18 Cancer Immunotherapy

2024 – ICIS

IL-18 Surrogate Cytokine Agonists (SCAs): Overcoming Limitations of IL-18 Cancer Immunotherapy

2024 – PEGS Summit

IFN-gamma

Structure of the IFNγ receptor complex guides design of biased agonists

2019 – Nature

Surrogate Cytokine Agonists

Structure-Guided Stapling of Dimeric Conformations and Linker Engineering Enhance Thermostability and Fine-Tune Activity of Bispecific VHH Cytokine Agonists

2025 – Antibodies

Surrogate Cytokine Agonist (SCA): unlocking natural and novel cytokine signals with VHH-based therapeutics

2023 – PEGS Summit

Surrogate Cytokines Agonists (SCAs): a novel combinatorial array of biased surrogate cytokine agonists with antibody-like druggability

2022 – Cytokines

IL10/IL2 Surrogate Cytokine Agonists

2022 – AACR

IL-2Rβ/IL-2Rλ Synthetic Cytokines Induce Activation of Human T and NK Cells

2022 – AACR

Facile discovery of surrogate cytokine agonists

2022 – Cell

Synthekines are surrogate cytokine and growth factor agonists that compel signaling through non-natural receptor dimers

2017 – eLife

Tuning Cytokine Receptor Signaling by Re-orienting Dimer Geometry with Surrogate Ligands

2015 – Cell