Phanes Therapeutics Starts First Patient Dosing for CRC Study

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 14, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Phanes Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on innovative drug discovery and development in immuno-oncology (IO), has announced that the first patient has been dosed in a clinical study of spevatamig for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). spevatamig is a first-in-class native IgG-like bispecific antibody (bsAb) targeting claudin 18.2 and CD47. The antibody was granted by the FDA orphan drug designation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer in 2022, Fast Track designation for the treatment of patients with metastatic claudin 18.2-positive pancreatic adenocarcinoma in 2024, and recently, Fast Track designation for the treatment of advanced and metastatic biliary tract carcinoma. In 2023, Phanes entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada) to study spevatamig in combination with pembrolizumab. spevatamig is an innate immunity enhancer (I2E), an emerging class of IO agents. It has the potential to become the first I2E for a solid tumor indication and is combinable with various anti-cancer therapies.

The multi-center Phase I/II clinical trial of spevatamig (NCT05482893), known as the TWINPEAK study, is currently evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of spevatamig in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers, including gastric, gastroesophageal Junction, pancreatic ductal, CRC or biliary tract adenocarcinomas. The Phase I (CTR20241655) and Phase II (CTR20252758) clinical trials of spevatamig in China are currently recruiting patients with gastrointestinal cancers.

Phanes Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on innovative drug discovery and development in immuno-oncology (IO). Currently, it is conducting three Phase 2 clinical trials with spevatamig, peluntamig, and mavrostobart. Both spevatamig and peluntamig are first-in-class bispecific antibodies and have been granted orphan drug and Fast Track designations by the FDA.

The company has built a strong pipeline by leveraging its proprietary technology platforms: PACbody®, SPECpair® and ATACCbody® to develop novel biologics that address high unmet medical needs in cancer.