Cellular immunotherapy is the Lamine Yamal of cancer therapy. It is easy to forget how young the field is – and that as stunning as it is to watch in action already, it is still reaching its full potential. One aspect of doing so is working in a broader range of tumor types. The field made a giant step toward that goal with last week’s approval of Tecelra (afamitresgene autoleucel, Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc), the first CAR T cell to be approved for treatment of a solid tumor.
To be successful, CAR T-cells need a balance between being effective and overkill. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Vittoria Biotherapeutics Inc. have eliminated the CD5 signaling pathway of their CAR Ts to prevent the immunosuppressive brake effect. In return, this improved their proliferation and antitumor activity in T cell lymphomas.
Umoja Biopharma Inc. has received clearance from the FDA to begin a first-in-human trial of its CAR T product UB-VV111. The company expects to dose the first patient by the end of 2024.
Astellas Pharma Inc.’s subsidiaries Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AIRM) and Universal Cells Inc. have entered into a research collaboration with Osaka University to develop a pluripotent stem cell-derived cartilage organoid cell therapy for the treatment of intervertebral disc degenerative disease.
Myogenica Inc., a University of Minnesota startup company, has obtained IND approval from the FDA for Myopaxon, an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived muscle stem cell product to regenerate skeletal muscle. A planned study will evaluate intramuscular injections of Myopaxon in non-ambulatory adult patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Abata Therapeutics Inc. has obtained FDA clearance for its IND application enabling initiation of a first-in-human study of ABA-101 in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). A phase I study will open later this year.
Researchers from Oricell Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of ORIC-613, a dual-targeting CAR T-cell therapy being developed for the treatment of pancreatic and gastric cancer.
Scientists at the University of Washington have engineered human plasma B cells modified to express long-lasting bispecific antibodies that could be used to treat leukemia without requiring continuous dosing.
“We are trying to engineer plasma cells to make as a stable source for biologic drugs. One thing that is really unique about plasma cells is that they can live for a really long time … up to 10 years or even 100 years depending on the type of plasma cell that that you make,” Richard James, senior author of the study, principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and associate professor at the University of Washington, told BioWorld.
SCG Cell Therapy Pte Ltd. has gained FDA clearance of its IND application to initiate a phase I/II trial of SCG-142, a novel next-generation human papillomavirus (HPV) E7-specific T-cell receptor-engineered T (TCR T)-cell therapy for patients with HPV-associated solid tumors.
Waypoint Bio has raised $14.5 million in seed funding to support its work pioneering novel cell therapies for solid tumors using in vivo spatial pooled screening technology.
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