Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) can only be cured, to date, using allogeneic stem cell transplantation which, in turn, only works for up to 20% of patients. As calreticulin (CALR) frameshift mutations are the second most common cause of MPNs, targeting this endoplasmic reticulum resident protein is one of the strategies emerging at the forefront of hematological malignancies research.
Researchers from Fate Therapeutics Inc. presented preclinical data for the multiplexed-engineered, off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapy, FT-522, as a potential therapeutic against autoimmune diseases.
At last week’s ASGCT meeting, Adicet Bio Inc. presented a new CAR T-cell therapy, ADI-270, for the treatment of CD70-expressing tumors. ADI-270 uses CD27 as the binding domain and 4-1BB co-stimulatory domains plus CD3.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $5 million grant from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to support research aimed at developing new immunotherapies for different types of blood-based cancers.
Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR)-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have previously demonstrated superior performance and functional persistence in solid tumor models, and the mesothelin-specific KIR-CAR T cells, Synkir-110, are now being evaluated in phase I trials by Verismo Therapeutics Inc.
As of Jan. 31, 2024, there were more than 300 CAR T trials registered in China, surpassing the U.S. and becoming the country with the most CAR T therapy clinical trials. Among them, CD19 is the most frequently studied target, according to BioWorld and Cortellis. The rapid evolution of CAR T-cell therapies in China has escalated over the past decade from the start of the first clinical trials in 2013 to the country becoming an established host for CAR T-cell-related trials by 2017, according to Yongxian Hu and researchers from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Chinese cell therapy companies – backed by $2.37 billion in funding in 2021 – have since significantly increased basic research and trial output for CAR Ts, which was welcomed by large patient demand.
China’s CAR T market is expected to grow from $72 million in 2022 to $342 million over the next decade. There are currently more than 400 CAR T therapies in the pipeline in China, and most of these are being developed by specialized Chinese biotechs. Research by Clarivate plc, BioWorld’s parent company, indicates that a notable proportion of CAR T-cell therapies in late-phase development in China are being developed through strategic partnerships and joint ventures between multinational corporations and domestic companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Nanjing Legend Biotech Corp., Juno Therapeutics Inc. and Wuxi Apptec Co. Ltd., and CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Juventas Cell Therapy Ltd.
Flindr Therapeutics BV has raised €20 million (US$21.4 million) in a series A round to advance small-molecule immune modulators aimed at targets it has identified in cancer patients who respond to existing immunotherapies.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is still an uncurable disease. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directed to tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 17, also known as BCMA, have transformed the field, with high response rate and durable remissions, but the access to this therapy is limited by multiple factors.
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