AstraZeneca Initiates Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of CD8-Targeted IL-2 Therapy AZD6750 in Advanced Solid Tumors

▎Armstrong

On August 11, 2025, AstraZeneca registered a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for AZD6750 in the treatment of advanced solid tumors on the Clinicaltrials.gov website.

This Phase 1 clinical trial plans to enroll 60 patients with advanced solid tumors and is expected to be completed by 2029. According to clinical registration information, AZD6750 is a CD8-targeted IL-2.

AstraZeneca has initiated three clinical trials for the CD8/IL-2 new drug AB248, which was developed by Asher Bio. AstraZeneca participated in its Series C financing round.

In 2024, the Asher Bio team published preclinical research data on CD8/IL-2 in the journal Cancer Discovery.

The Asher Bio team fused an antibody targeting CD8β with a non-α IL-2 variant. In vitro cellular assays showed that the induction of Ki67 in human CD8+ T cells was over 6000 times stronger than in NK cells, and CD8+ T cells receiving TCR stimulation exhibited increased levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion.

Summary

Innovent Biologics' PD-1/IL-2 mechanism of action is to target PD-1 positive, IL-2Rα positive CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment, demonstrating excellent therapeutic potential in clinical settings. Asher Bio and AstraZeneca's CD8/IL-2, on the other hand, use CD8 targeting to localize to CD8+ T cells, with anticipated subsequent clinical progress.