Immuneering to Collaborate with Astellas on Clinical Studies of Investigational CLDN18.2 Programs in Combination with Atebimetinib for Pancreatic Cancer Patients
Immuneering retains global development and commercialization rights to atebimetinib under the collaboration.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Immuneering (Nasdaq: IMRX) entered a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Astellas Pharma Global Development to study atebimetinib combinations in pancreatic cancer.
Astellas will sponsor and conduct two planned studies in patients whose tumors express CLDN18.2, and Immuneering will supply its investigational drug atebimetinib. One study will evaluate an Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program with atebimetinib and modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer. The other will test a different Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program with atebimetinib, without chemotherapy, in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. This is Immuneering’s fourth agreement with a pharmaceutical partner.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works
Positive
- Moderate pointAstellas collaboration adds Immuneering’s fourth pharmaceutical partner agreement, with Astellas sponsoring and conducting the planned studies.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.First-line study will evaluate atebimetinib with an Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program and modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Chemotherapy-free study will evaluate atebimetinib with a different Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program in previously treated metastatic patients.
- Minor pointGlobal development and commercialization rights to atebimetinib remain with Immuneering.
Negative
- None.
News Explained
The agreement leaves global development and commercialization rights to atebimetinib with Immuneering and rights to its CLDN18.2-targeted programs with Astellas.
Key Figures
- Planned studies
- Two studies
- Astellas-sponsored studies in pancreatic cancer
Historical Context
-
Follow-up extended in the 55-patient atebimetinib-mGnP pancreatic cancer arm after patients lived longer than projected.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
mek inhibitor medical
cldn18.2 medical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
- Collaboration aligns with Immuneering’s expanding strategy to provide a broad population of cancer patients with a wide set of treatment options -
- Represents Immuneering’s fourth agreement with a pharma partner -
- Further expands external partnerships to bring innovative new combinations to patients -
NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immuneering Corporation (Nasdaq: IMRX) today announced it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc., a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503). Under the agreement, Immuneering will supply its investigational MEK inhibitor, atebimetinib, for two Astellas-sponsored studies targeting the subset of pancreatic cancer patients whose tumors express CLDN18.2. One trial will evaluate an Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program added to atebimetinib plus modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (mGnP) in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. A second trial will evaluate a chemotherapy-free regimen combining a different Astellas investigational CLDN18.2-targeted program with atebimetinib in previously-treated metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. Further trial details will be forthcoming.
“This collaboration reflects our conviction that atebimetinib has the potential to become an essential backbone therapy in a broad range of combinations across MAPK-driven cancers,” said Ben Zeskind, Immuneering CEO and co-founder. “Atebimetinib’s unique tolerability profile and broad activity make it well suited to combine with a wide range of innovative medicines targeted to specific subsets of patients, including the CLDN18.2-targeted therapies that Astellas is developing."
“Claudin 18.2 has emerged as a promising target in gastrointestinal cancers,” said Igor Matushansky, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Immuneering. “By combining CLDN18.2 targeted therapy with atebimetinib, these studies will evaluate the extent to which there is synergy between these distinct yet complementary mechanisms that can benefit patients with CLDN18.2-expressing pancreatic cancer.”
Under the terms of the collaboration, Astellas will sponsor and conduct the planned studies and Immuneering will supply atebimetinib. Immuneering maintains global development and commercialization rights to atebimetinib, and Astellas maintains global development and commercialization rights to its CLDN18.2-targeted programs.
About Immuneering Corporation
Immuneering is a late-stage clinical oncology company dedicated to keeping cancer patients alive and helping them thrive, with an initial focus on patients with RAS, RAF, and other MAPK-driven cancers. The Company is developing an entirely new category of cancer medicines, Deep Cyclic Inhibitors, designed to improve overall survival by three mechanisms: shrinking tumors durably with less resistance, preserving body mass by countering cachexia, and minimizing side effects to maximize performance status and combinability. Immuneering’s lead product candidate, atebimetinib, is an oral, once-daily Deep Cyclic Inhibitor of MEK, designed to improve survival across many cancer indications. The Company is conducting a global randomized pivotal trial, MAPKeeper 301, evaluating atebimetinib in combination with chemotherapy in first-line pancreatic cancer patients. The Company’s development pipeline also includes additional combination opportunities and preclinical stage programs. For more information, please visit www.immuneering.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding: the treatment potential of atebimetinib, alone or in combination with other agents to treat cancer including modified Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (mGnP), claudin 18.2 targeted agents and other Astellas compounds, the suitability of combining atebimetinib, and its potential to reduce tumor volume and preserve body mass in pancreatic cancer; the timing the timing and number of studies being planned and evaluated under this collaboration; and the potential ability of the three design mechanisms of atebimetinib to shrink tumors durably, improve overall survival and overcome the limitations of conventional MAPK inhibition and provide a more sustained clinical benefit for patients.
These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: we are a late-stage clinical oncology company with a limited operating history and have not completed any registrational clinical trials; we have incurred significant losses, are not currently profitable and may never become profitable; limitations on our cash runway and potential increases in expenditures; our need for additional funding; our unproven approach to therapeutic intervention; our ability to address regulatory questions and changing regulatory standards, and the uncertainties relating to regulatory filings, reviews and approvals; the lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process of clinical drug development, including the uncertainty of whether positive preclinical or early clinical efficacy and safety results are confirmed in later-stage trials, potential delays in activation of trial sites or enrollment of trial participants, or failure to obtain regulatory approvals; our reliance on third parties and collaborators to conduct our clinical trials, manufacture our product candidates, and develop and commercialize our product candidates, if approved; failure to compete successfully against other drug companies; protection of our proprietary technology and the confidentiality of our trade secrets; potential lawsuits for, or claims of, infringement of third-party intellectual property or challenges to the ownership of our intellectual property; our patents being found invalid or unenforceable; costs and resources of operating as a public company; and unfavorable or no analyst research or reports.
These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2026, and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Investor Contact:
Laurence Watts
New Street Investor Relations
laurence@newstreetir.com
Media Contact:
David Caouette
dcaouette@immuneering.com
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What will Immuneering and Astellas study in their pancreatic cancer collaboration?
The collaboration covers two planned studies in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients whose tumors express CLDN18.2. One will combine an Astellas investigational program with atebimetinib and modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in first-line treatment. The other will combine a different Astellas investigational program with atebimetinib, without chemotherapy, in previously treated patients.
Who retains drug development and commercialization rights under the Immuneering–Astellas agreement?
Immuneering retains global development and commercialization rights to atebimetinib, while Astellas retains global development and commercialization rights to its CLDN18.2-targeted programs.