Although ovarian cancers appear to be immunologically active, they do not respond well to immunotherapy in the clinic. In a study published on Dec. 14, 2022, in Nature, a multidisciplinary team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) led by Sohrab Shah and Dmitriy Zamarin has uncovered several mechanisms of immune evasion that can help explain why ovarian cancers have been resistant to immunotherapy to date.
Invectys Inc. and CTMC, a joint venture between MD Anderson Cancer Center and National Resilience Inc., have announced FDA clearance of an IND application for a phase I/IIa study of IVS-3001, Invectys' lead engineered human leukocyte antigen A (HLA-G)-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are astounding. In B-cell cancers, they have been transformative. Yet engineering-wise, CAR T cells are in the equivalent of the Model T era. CAR T-cell engineering has already evolved, with the addition of costimulatory domains, which affect cell expansion and signaling. But once the cells are injected into a patient, there is really no way to affect their behavior.
Several STING agonists have demonstrated antitumor efficacy in preclinical studies and are currently under clinical development. However, systemic administration of STING agonists may have adverse effects, while intratumoral injection is limited by tumor accessibility. Therefore, systemic delivery of STING agonists specifically targeted to tumors emerges as a potential strategy to overcome these limitations.
CD40-targeting therapies have been proposed as an interesting alternative to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. In particular, bispecific CD40 antibodies can target CD40 more efficiently and safely than monospecific therapies. In a recent publication, researchers at Alligator Bioscience AB and collaborators demonstrate that bispecific antibodies targeting CD40 and tumor-associated antigens (TAA) can enhance priming of tumor-specific T cells in vivo.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. a US$3.1 million grant to support continued development of the company's Supernova-1 (SNV-1) preclinical program through IND application. The grant was awarded to Calidi to support IND-enabling studies, finalize manufacturing and the completion of Calidi's IND application for the SNV-1 program.
Researchers from Tubulis GmbH presented preclinical data for a CD30-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), TUB-010, being developed as a potential anticancer immunotherapy candidate.
Treatment with anti-CD19 bispecific T-cell engager and CAR T therapies can lead to T-cell exhaustion and treatment failure. Novartis AG’s first-in-class anti-CD19, anti-CD3 and anti-CD2 IgG-like trispecific antibody PIT-565, which engages CD19+ on tumor cells, and CD3 (TCR signaling component) and CD2 (a costimulatory receptor) on T cells simultaneously to redirect T-cell cytotoxicity toward CD19-positive malignant B cells, has been designed to avoid T-cell exhaustion.
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