Watch the "What This Means" video here

Featuring the Company’s pembrolizumab-based immune checkpoint inhibitor

MIRAMAR, Fla., Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCW Biologics Inc. (the “Company” or “HCW Biologics”), (NASDAQ: HCWB), a U.S.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies to lengthen healthspan by disrupting the link between inflammation and age-related diseases, today announced that Peter Rhode, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Clinical Operations of HCW Biologics, participated in a Virtual Investor “What This Means” segment .

Dr. Rhode’s presentation features the Company’s lead product candidate, known as HCW11-040, which is the Company’s franchise immunotherapeutic for internal clinical development as a second-generation immune checkpoint inhibitor. HCW11-040 is a multi-functional fusion protein constructed using the Company’s novel drug discovery and development platform, called the TRBC platform. This compound is a unique combination of pembrolizumab, commonly known as Keytruda ® (a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC), along with interleukin-7, interleukin-15, and TGF-β receptor components (TGF-β traps). The Company has discovered through preclinical testing that this unique combination exhibits the ability to expand the exhausted T cells or TPEX cells without causing side effects. TPEX cells are located in the lymph nodes near the cancer site and these cells have been implicated as the primary responders to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. TPEX cells have stem cell-like properties and can change into effector T cells for providing anti-tumor effects. To improve the activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors, the Company added cytokine components that further expand and activate these TPEX cells.   The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors can be further improved by equipping them with other moieties such as TGF-β traps that neutralize immunosuppressive factors, particularly one called TGF-β.

At the upcoming 40 th annual meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (“SITC”), the Company will be presenting extensive data for HCW11-040 in a poster presentation entitled, “A novel tetra-specific pembrolizumab-based immunotherapeutic,” that will be available at SITC on November 8, 2025.

The Virtual Investor “What This Means” segment featuring HCW Biologics is now available here .

About HCW Biologics:

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ: HCWB) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing proprietary immunotherapies to treat diseases promoted by chronic inflammation, especially age-related and senescence-associated diseases. The Company’s immunotherapeutics represent a new class of drug that it believes have the potential to fundamentally change the treatment of cancer and many other diseases and conditions that are promoted by chronic inflammation — and in doing so, improve patients’ quality of life and potentially extend longevity. Chronic inflammation, including inflammaging, is believed to be a significant contributing factor to senescence-associated diseases and conditions that diminish healthspan, including many types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as many indications that impact quality-of-life that are not life-threatening. The Company’s lead product candidate, HCW9302, was developed using the Company’s legacy TOBI™ (Tissue factOr-Based fusIon) platform. The Company has created another drug discovery technology, the TRBC platform, which is not based on Tissue Factor. The TRBC platform has the capability to construct immunotherapeutics that not only activate and target immune responses but are also equipped with receptors that specifically target cancerous or infected cells. This platform is a versatile scaffold that enables the creation of multiple classes of immunotherapeutic compounds: Class I: Multi-Functional Immune Cell Stimulators; Class II: Second-Generation Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Class III: Multi-Specific Targeting Fusions and Enhanced Immune Cell Engagers. These novel immunotherapeutics can be used to treat a wide range of disease indications, including oncology, autoimmune diseases, and improving quality of life conditions. The Company has constructed over 50 molecules using the TRBC platform, including HCW11-002, HCW11-006, HCW11-018 and HCW11-040. Further preclinical evaluation studies are currently being conducted for these molecules the Company has selected based on promising preclinical data. The Company has two licensing programs in which it has licensed exclusive rights for some of its proprietary molecules. See the Company Pipeline at https://hcwbiologics.com/pipeline/

Forward Looking Statements:

Statements in this press release contain “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” “forecast” or other similar words and include, the actual success and potency of pembrolizumab-based TRBC fusion molecules; whether pembrolizumab-based TRBC fusion molecules will exhibit potent anti-pancreatic cancer activities and continue to outperform pembrolizumab both in vitro and in humanized mouse models; or whether pembrolizumab-based TRBC fusion molecules are effective in treatment of solid tumors and pancreatic cancers. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that are described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the annual report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 28, 2025, the latest Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 18, 2025 and in other filings filed from time to time with the SEC.

Company Contact:

Dr. Peter Rhode
Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Clinical Operations
HCW Biologics Inc.
[email protected]