Novaccess Global Inc. has announced the approval of its application with the FDA for orphan drug designation for TLR-AD1, a vaccine immunotherapy for the treatment of aggressive brain cancers, including glioblastoma and other high-grade gliomas. The company’s therapeutic path involves a unique transformational process, which involves the addition of proprietary substances to create a cocktail for more personalized treatment that substantially increases clinical benefits for patients.
The design of genetically modified exosomes that combine multiple targets killed cancer cells and conferred immunity against them. Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) applied bioengineering techniques to introduce up to four antitumor functions in the same type of extracellular vesicles and destroy EGFR-positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumor cells.
Previous research has revealed that some downstream hormones or effectors of the hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) unit, such as glucocorticoids, estrogen and progesterone, are elevated in patients with cancer. It was also shown that these hormones regulate the function of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that the neuroendocrine system and HP unit might modulate tumor immunity. In the current study, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China aimed to investigate the role of HP unit in tumor immunity.
The interaction of immune checkpoints, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), with their ligands leads to T-cell deactivation, allowing cancer cells to escape from the immune system.
H-Cyte Inc. has completed its acquisition of Jantibody, a novel cancer immunotherapeutic agent that has demonstrated promising efficacy in controlling ovarian cancer and mesothelioma in preclinical models.
Researchers from CSL Behring LLC have investigated the inhibitory properties of an rFc hexamer, named Fc-muTP-L309C, as a modulator of the classic component pathway activation.
Oxford Biodynamics plc is launching its clinical assay Episwitch CIRT in the U.S. following clinical validation that demonstrated the 3D genomic eight biomarker panel can predict a cancer patient’s response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy at up to 93% sensitivity, 82% specificity and 85% accuracy. ICIs are currently used against more than 15 types of cancer but less than one in three patients show any benefit from the treatment.
Intervenn Biosciences raised $201 million in a series C financing led by new investors Softbank Group, Heritage Provider Network, Irving Investors and Highside Capital Management. The proceeds are earmarked to speed development and commercialization of Dawn, a liquid biopsy assay for immune checkpoint inhibitor prediction, and to expand the network of partnerships on the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven glycoproteomics platform.
Japanese scientists led by Shin Kaneko, an associate professor in the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, have developed the first practical bioengineering strategy for generating a universal pluripotent stem cell.