CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mestag Therapeutics ("Mestag"), a biotech company harnessing fibroblast immunology for the benefit of patients with inflammatory disease and cancer, announced today that it will be presenting a poster at the Cancer Immunotherapy: Basic Mechanisms Informing Clinical Applications & Combinations Keystone Symposia taking place March 15-18, 2026, in Québec City, Canada, titled "MST-0312: FAP-targeted LTBR Agonist Induces High Endothelial Venules, Lymphocyte Infiltration and Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Solid Tumors."
Poster Details:
| Title: | MST-0312: FAP-targeted LTBR Agonist Induces High Endothelial Venules, Lymphocyte Infiltration and Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Solid Tumors |
| Poster Number: | 1037 |
| Date: | March 16, 2026 |
| Time: | 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET |
| Session Title: | Poster Session 1 |
About MST-0312
MST-0312 is a first-in-class targeted lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTBR) agonist bispecific antibody designed to induce tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and high endothelial venules (HEV) in solid tumors. A remarkable body of clinical evidence correlates the presence of TLS and HEV in tumors with improved response to treatment and patient survival outcomes. It is believed that TLS/HEV formation drives improved access of lymphocytes into tumor tissue, and facilitates local education and activation to tumor antigens. LTBR is the key pathway driving TLS/HEV formation. Preclinical studies show that MST-0312 monotherapy induces strong, dose-dependent anti-tumor responses, including in low-antigen tumors that are typically resistant to immunotherapy. MST-0312 is planned to enter the clinic in 2026 with the initiation of the Phase 1 STARLYS trial, advised by leading cancer experts.
About Mestag Therapeutics
Mestag harnesses new insights into fibroblast immunology to develop impactful treatments for patients with cancer and inflammatory diseases. We are progressing a unique pipeline of novel antibodies designed to direct and drive the immune system using known and emerging fibroblast-immune biology.
Our pipeline includes MST-0312, a FAP-targeted LTBR agonist bispecific antibody that leverages a new understanding of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in solid tumors and their role in driving improved patient outcomes; the M402 program, an agonist antibody targeting a stromal inhibitory receptor to dampen down the activation of specific immune cell subsets in inflammatory disease; and earlier programs in discovery stage.
Separately, we are also identifying novel targets for future therapies utilizing our specialist fibroblast-immune RAFT Platform. In 2024, we entered into a license and research collaboration with MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA) to identify novel targets for inflammatory diseases, and licensed a novel target to Johnson & Johnson under a 2021 target discovery, option and license agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc.
Our founding investigators comprise global experts in inflammatory disease, cancer, computational biology and fibroblast biology from the University of Oxford, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Mestag was founded by SV Health Investors and is supported by leading life science investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc., Forbion, GV (Google Ventures) and Northpond Ventures.
For further information, please visit our website www.mestagtherapeutics.com.
For enquiries, please contact:
Investors
Alexandra Santos
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com
Media
Aljanae Reynolds
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com
