Pre-Conference Workshop Day
Morning Coffee & Check-In
8.00
Workshop A
9.00-12.00
Target Selection for TCE in Autoimmunity & Approaching Novel Targets to Guide Next-Generation TCE Development
Ricardo Grieshaber-Bouyer, Professor Friedrich-Alexander, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Giovanni Abbadessa, Chief Medical Officer, ModeX Therapeutics
As T-cell engagers transition from oncology to autoimmune disease, strategic target selection is critical to achieving selective depletion of pathogenic immune cells while minimizing toxicity. In this interactive workshop, you will explore how target biology, disease pathogenesis, and novel cell subsets must guide next generation TCE development.
Learn how to pair emerging autoimmune disease insights with optimal TCE target profiles, explore non-B cell targets such as mast cells and T helper subsets, and debate how to de-risk novel targets with heterogeneous expression or unknown function.
Designed to facilitate meaningful scientific discussion, this session will also evaluate how to overcome technical and translational hurdles in target discovery, from fresh tissue access to multi-omics integration.
This workshop will gather experts to discuss:
- From Broad Depletion to Precision TCEs: Rethinking the strategy beyond Pan-B cell targets. Examine the limitations of conventional B cell depletion in autoimmunity, and discover how TCEs can enable selective targeting of disease-driving immune cells, improving efficacy and reducing infection risks.
- Matching Targets to Disease Biology: Why autoantibodies, cell subsets and indication-specific drivers matter. Explore how to identify the true pathogenic source of autoantibody production and understand the importance of aligning TCE targets with indication-specific mechanisms, such as plasma cells in lupus.
- De-Risking Novel Targets and Navigating Expression Heterogeneity, Low- Density Challenges & Unknown Biology: Discuss strategies for validating novel targets with variable expression (e.g., CD19- low B cells), and how TCEs can succeed where mAbs fail by killing even low-density target-expressing cells.
- Expanding the Horizon - Non-B Cell Targets for Autoimmune TCEs: Debate the potential of targeting mast cells, fibroblasts, or unconventional T-cell populations using TCEs, and how to evaluate risk/benefit for novel cell types with less precedent.
- Frameworks for Target Discovery - Leveraging Primary Samples, Multi-Omics & Relapsed Patient Data:
Understand how integrating transcriptomics, proteomics, and fresh sample analysis can help identify targetable pathogenic subsets especially in treatment-refractory or relapsed autoimmune patients.
Lunch Break & Networking
12.00
Workshop B
1.00-4.00
Leveraging Expertise from Rheumatologists to Improve Future Design & Development of Your T-Cell Engager for Autoimmune Disease
Ricardo Grieshaber-Bouyer, Professor Friedrich-Alexander, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
William Robinson, Professor & Chief of Immunology & Rheumatology, Medicine, Stanford University
This rheumatologist-led workshop offers a critical translational perspective to help TCE developers identify unmet clinical needs, refine target product profiles, and design smarter, more feasible clinical trials.
Gain practical, real-world guidance from clinical experts working at the frontline of rheumatology, learn how to differentiate assets in crowded indications, address regulatory and recruitment challenges, and better understand where TCEs could offer competitive or complementary value to biologics.
This workshop will gather experts to discuss:
- Understanding the treatment landscape – Where do TCEs add value beyond Anti-TNF biologics? Examining unmet needs among patients in RA, SLE, etc. and identifying specific patient populations underserved by existing therapeutics, and where TCEs may offer superior or complementary mechanisms (e.g., B cell or plasma cell depletion).
- Exploring how to select optimal patient for earlier proof-of-concept studies while gaining insights into how trial design can address recruitment bottlenecks, especially in Phase 1/2 studies involving complex autoimmune phenotypes.
- Rheumatologists perspective on how to balance safety signals and efficacy thresholds in early-stage autoimmune trials.
- Understanding the role of biomarkers and assays to accelerate decision-making by reviewing emerging biomarker strategies (e.g. autoantibodies, early B-cell depletion markers).
- Comparing the risk tolerance of oncology vs autoimmune patients and reviewing the safety hurdles that biotech must consider, from CRS to long-term immune suppression.