New HMBD-002 Data Presented at ASCO Annual Meeting
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Released
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ASX Announcement
NEW PRECLINICAL DATA FOR HMBD-002 IN BREAST CANCER
PRESENTED AT AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
ANNUAL MEETING
Melbourne, Australia – 2 June 2026: Percheron Therapeutics Limited (ASX: PER) (‘the
Company’), an international biotechnology company focused on the development of
novel therapies for oncology and rare diseases, is pleased to share a poster presentation
released today at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology
(ASCO), which is being held in Chicago, IL, from 29 May – 2 June 2026.
Key Points
• The poster describes work undertaken at QIMR Berghofer in Brisbane, Queensland
under a collaboration with Percheron Therapeutics. QIMR Berghofer is one of the
leading independent medical research institutes in Australia, with a focus on
cancer, infectious disease, population health and brain and mental health. The
principal investigator for this collaboration was Professor Sudha Rao, a leading
expert on the use of immunotherapy in cancer.
• The project examined the potential role of VISTA, the molecular target of HMBD-002,
in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC accounts for approximately 15% of
new breast cancer diagnoses and represents one of the greatest areas of unmet
need in the disease. Patients with TNBC are often significantly less responsive to
existing therapies.
• Professor Rao and team deployed cutting edge ‘spatial multiomics’ techniques to
identify patterns of VISTA expression in a wide variety of patient samples and
datasets, including data from 83 patients previously treated with Tecentriq®
(atezoliumab), a PD-1 / PD-L1 inhibitor.
• The QIMR data suggests that VISTA is upregulated in patients who become resistant
to chemotherapy, implying that it may form part of a potential resistance
mechanism to treatment. In addition, the research showed increased expression of
VISTA after treatment with PD-1 / PD-L1 inhibition. Again, this suggests that VISTA
may be a relevant treatment target in patients who become resistant to such
therapies.
• The authors conclude that their findings “…support VISTA as a promising therapeutic
target in TNBC.”
“It has been a pleasure to work with Professor Rao and her team on this very
comprehensive research project,” commented Percheron CEO, Dr James Garner.
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“Despite huge progress in the treatment of breast cancer over recent decades, there
continues to be significant unmet medical need in the disease, and TNBC remains
especially challenging. This work indicates that VISTA, the molecular target of
Percheron’s HMBD-002, may play an important role in treatment resistance. We have
previously seen indications of this in other cancer types, but the current project is the
first attempt to elucidate its role in TNBC so exhaustively. We look forward to discussing
these findings further, and to considering their implications for future clinical trial
directions.”
Background
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as breast cancer which lacks oestrogen,
progesterone, or HER2 receptors, allowing it to evade several of the most common
treatment strategies for the disease. It is usually estimated to represent around 15% of
all newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients. Although immunotherapy drugs targeting
PD-1 / PD-L1, such as Keytruda® (pembrolizumab), are approved for TNBC, their efficacy
is generally considered to be less than optimal, and there is a very high level of scientific
interest in therapeutic modalities that can augment or even supplant existing
immunotherapy.
ASCO Annual Meeting
The ASCO Annual Meeting is widely regarded as the foremost annual conference for
practicing oncologists and clinical researchers, as well as a key event for investors and
pharmaceutical companies. It typically attracts up to 50,000 attendees from over 100
countries and territories. In 2025, more than 7,500 abstracts were submitted to ASCO
for consideration, with only a minority of those being selected for oral or poster
presentations.
Next Steps
The QIMR team expect to compile a manuscript describing their results, and providing
further preclinical data, for eventual publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Percheron anticipates commencing a new clinical trial of HMBD-002 in 2H CY2026.
~ ENDS ~
Page 3 of 3
About Percheron Therapeutics Limited
Percheron Therapeutics Limited [ASX: PER | US OTC: PERCF] is a publicly listed biotechnology
company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel therapies for oncology
and rare diseases. The company’s lead program is HMBD-002, a monoclonal antibody targeting
the immune checkpoint regulator, VISTA. HMBD-002 has completed a phase I clinical trial in
patients with advanced cancer, which has shown the drug to be generally safe and well-
tolerated, and Percheron aims to commence further clinical trials in CY2026.
For more information, please contact info@PercheronTx.com.
This announcement has been authorized for release to the Australian Securities Exchange
by the Board of Directors.
#1137 VISTA-Targeted Combination Immunotherapy for Suppression of Breast Cancer Metastasis and Recurrence
James Garner1, Wen Juan Tu2, Michelle Melino2, Amanda L. Bain2, Sriganesh Srihari3, Eugene Kennedy1, Sudha Rao2
1Percheron Therapeutics Limited, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; 2 Gene Regulation and Translational Medicine Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; 3Tumour Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
Conclusion
• VISTA is a treatment-emergent checkpoint associated with T-cell exhaustion,
recurrence, and metastasis in TNBC.
• Its enrichment in exhausted T-cell niches, metastasis-initiating tumor cells, and
CTCs post–chemo-immunotherapy supports its role in adaptive resistance.
• VISTA co-expression with TIM3, LAG3, CTLA4, and TIGIT indicates severe T-
cell dysfunction and immune suppression in TNBC.
• Increased VISTA after PD1/PD-L1 therapy suggests that VISTA may drive
resistance to the immunotherapy.
• These findings support VISTA as a promising therapeutic target in TNBC.
Methods
• In early-stage TNBC (II/III), recurrence remains substantial among patients without
pathological complete response after chemo-immunotherapy.
• Current PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors show limited efficacy in metastatic TNBC (median OS ~23
months) and infrequent durable responses.
• V-domain Ig suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA) is a next-generation checkpoint with
distinct biology, enriched in tumor-infiltrating immune cells in TNBC.
• HMBD-002 Is a non-depleting recombinant IgG4 antibody with picomolar affinity and high
specificity for VISTA.
• In this study, we performed comprehensive spatial and liquid biopsy profiling of VISTA in
TNBC patients. We aimed to characterize the expression landscape of VISTA and its ligands
within the tumor microenvironment and to understand their role in TNBC progression, immune
suppression, and treatment resistance.
Background
Results/Graphs/Data
Future Directions for Research
Post Pre Progression
VISR
Expression
Level
Blood
Post Pre Progression
Brest Tissue
VISR
Expression
Level
SELPLG
Expression
Level
Pre
Post
Progression
Pre
Post
Progression
Pre
Post
Progression
Pre
Post
Progression
Pre
Post
Progression
Pre
Post
Progression
Progenitor
Terminally
Exhausted
Others Progenitor
Terminally
Exhausted
Others
A)
B)
C)
A) VISTA expression is higher after treatment and during disease progression
B) VISTA is enriched in CD4+ T cells and B cells during disease progression.
C) VISTA and its ligand SELPLG are strongly enriched in progenitor and
terminally exhausted T cells after treatment and during disease progression.
VISR
Expression
Level
Post Pre Progression Post Pre Progression
VISTA and its related ligands are increased after
treatment and during disease progression in advanced
TNBC, in both tumor tissue and blood samples.
Clinical Study (GSE305078): Tumour biopsies from 26 early-stage + 6 advanced TNBC patients
VISR
Expression
Level
SELPLG
Expression
Level
VISR and its ligand SELPLG are significantly enriched in the CD4, CD8, NK, B cell, DC, Mφ, Monocytes, and Epithelial
cells in early-stage TNBC tumors.
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
Lymph Node
Metastasis
Breast Tumor
Primary
VISR
Expression
Level
• VISTA is highly expressed in CD4+ T cells, NKs and Ki67+ cells of the primary tumor;
• Significant increase of VISTA expression in CAFs, TECs and Mφ of metastatic lymph nodes
VISTA-520_Green, CD45-570_Red
Mouse primary tumor
Total
VISTA
+
cells
CD45
+
VISTA
+
cells
CD45
-
VISTA
+
cells
VISTA
+
IF
intensity
VISTA
+
IF
intensity
VISTA
+
IF
intensity
TNBC Patient Tissue Overview:
Sample Preparation
Hybridization of RNA specific probes
and protein specific antibodies
Robust in situ hybridization
chemistry and readout
Integrated Readout Interactive
Data Analysis
Clinical Study (GSE169246): Paclitaxel + atezolizumab in advanced TNBC patients (n=83)
Clinical Study (GSE167036): Paired primary tumour and metastatic lymph node from 8 patients
VISTA expression in TNBC mouse tumour and metastatic patient liquid biopsy
IF
Intensity
αPD1 treatment increased VISTA expression in TNBC mouse tumour VISTA expression in CTC
of metastatic patient
Spatial Multiomics Single-Cell Platform
NFC1 _HHA1 NFA6 _NFA1
Number of FOVs 25 25
Total Tissue Area (mm2
) 5.11 4.08
Mean Single Cell Size (um2
) 137.6 199.8
Number of Cells in Final Analysis 37122 20414
Total Transcripts Assigned to Cells 3959547 3973226
Post-QC matrix
VSIR and T-cell inhibitory receptors co-expression in recurrence patient
Insitutype semi-supervised
cell clustering analysis:
• Identified 20 cell types
VSIR and T-cell inhibitory receptors co-expression across each cell type
Ctrl
αPD1
• VSIR and its related ligands SELPLG are enriched in TAMs, Mφ, Myeloid, T cells and myo-epithelial
• VSIR and T-cell inhibitory receptors co-expression in CD8/CD4 T cells, TAMs, Mφ, Myeloid cells
• VSIR and its related ligands SELPLG are highly expressed in recurrence patient
• VSIR and T-cell inhibitory receptors co-expression in recurrence patient
• Future studies should investigate VISTA-targeted therapy as a potential
treatment strategy in TNBC.
• Combining VISTA blockade with current immunotherapies may help improve
treatment response and reduce metastasis and recurrence in TNBC.
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