The efficacy of allogeneic cell therapeutics for regenerative or oncology indications can be compromised by the emergence of antibodies against those cells, as observed in clinical trials. To overcome this limitation, scientists from the University of California and collaborators have developed a gene engineering approach providing antibody protection for cell therapeutics. The new approach to protecting cells from antibody-mediated cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) relies on the overexpression of the IgG receptor CD64.
Researchers at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology’s Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Pulmobiotics Ltd. have used one bacterium to fight another. In mouse models, the team used engineered Mycoplasma pneumoniae to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the chief culprit in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
A combination of bioengineering techniques on normal cell binding proteins could be the method of the future for selective cell binding. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have created a synthetic glue based on the expression of membrane receptors to establish the desired connection between cells. The results may be applied in different fields of cell biology or biomedicine, such as regeneration and wound repair, including the nervous system, or cancer.
Sana Biotechnology Inc. has outlined the status of its pipeline following a portfolio prioritization. The company remains on track to file an IND this year for SC-291, the company's HIP-modified, CD19-targeted allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, with initial clinical data expected next year.
Affimed NV and Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. have entered into a new strategic partnership to jointly develop, manufacture and commercialize a combination therapy comprised of Affimed's Innate Cell Engager (ICE) AFM-13 and Artiva's cord blood-derived, cryopreserved off-the-shelf allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell product candidate, AB-101.
Synthetic cells (SCs) armed with recombinant growth factors could contribute to tissue regeneration and healing by promoting angiogenesis. This technology opens the door to its application in other therapies such as transplants that require the remodeling or formation of new blood vessels. In addition, they mark the way to produce intracorporeal biological drugs or the inhibition of the angiogenesis process itself when it comes to blocking the irrigation of a tumor.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are useful for the treatment of solid tumors, but in many tumors, only partial response is achieved. The antitumoral efficacy of Enlivex Therapeutics Ltd.'s Allocetra-OTS, a cellular therapy, was investigated in animal models of solid tumors.