CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, April 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mestag Therapeutics, a biotech company harnessing fibroblast immunology to develop impactful treatments for patients with cancer and inflammatory disease, announced today that it has been selected to present a late‑breaking poster at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting taking place April 17–22, 2026 in San Diego, California.
The poster presentation entitled “MST‑0312: Targeted LTBR Agonist Designed to Induce Tertiary Lymphoid Structures and High Endothelial Venules for the Treatment of Solid Tumors,” will detail pre-clinical findings from its FAP‑targeted LTBR agonist program, presented by Pascal Merchiers, Chief Development Officer.
Details of the late-breaking poster presentation are as follows:
Poster Title: MST‑0312: Targeted LTBR Agonist Designed to Induce Tertiary Lymphoid Structures and High Endothelial Venules for the Treatment of Solid Tumors
Session Title: Late-Breaking Research: Immunology 3
Session Date and Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 9:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Poster Section 53
Abstract Presentation Number: LB257
Late-breaking abstracts will be available in an online itinerary planner here on April 17.
MST-0312 is a FAP-targeted LTBR agonist bispecific antibody designed to induce the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and high endothelial venules (HEV) in solid tumors. A substantial body of clinical evidence demonstrates that the presence of TLS and HEV in tumors is associated with improved patient survival and enhanced responses to therapy, reflecting their role in facilitating lymphocyte access to the tumor and local education. LTBR activation is the key pathway driving TLS/HEV formation.
MST‑0312 is anticipated to enter clinic mid‑2026 with the initiation of the Phase 1 STARLYS trial.
For more information, please contact:
Optimum Strategic Communications
Zoe Bolt, Josh Evans, Henry Williams
+44 (0) 203 882 9621
Mestag@optimumcomms.com
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, through its corporate venture capital organization, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., Forbion, GV (Google Ventures) and Northpond Ventures. For further information, please visit our website www.mestagtherapeutics.com.
