As the many challenges facing cell therapies are being addressed, the CAR T field continues to evolve beyond its original design of T cells engineered to target hematological malignancies. During the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, several studies showed how this technology is being redefined as programmable and adaptable immune cells with expanded functional versatility.
Individuals with the inherited disorder Fanconi anemia cannot properly repair damage to their DNA, increasing risk of cancers such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
A team of U.S. and South Korean researchers have developed an AI model called MSI-SEER that can not only predict microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors based on tissue slides, but also flag “what it does not know.” “Have you ever asked ChatGPT anything, and the response was, ‘I don’t know?’” Cheong Jae-ho asked during an interview with BioWorld. “Probably not, and that is the problem with AI now.”
Work at Aligos Therapeutics Inc. has led to the discovery of new programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1; PD-1; CD279)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1; CD274) interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B.
In an isomerization reaction, uridine is modified to pseudouridine, the most abundant RNA modification which presents an extra hydrogen bond donor, altering the RNA structure and providing unique chemical properties.
Cartography Biosciences Inc. has closed a $67 million series B financing to support its pipeline of T-cell engaging bispecific and multispecific antibody therapeutics that target novel and highly specific tumor antigens.
Researchers at Alligator Bioscience AB and Lund University have developed a bispecific therapeutic antibody, ATOR-4066, that simultaneously targets the immune cell receptor CD40 and the tumor antigen CEACAM5.
Ovarian cancer remains unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors due to its ability to suppress cytotoxicity from immune cells that are infiltrating the tumor, where the O-glycosylation pathway may be disrupted. Precision Biologics Inc. is developing PB-vcMMAE-5, an antibody-drug conjugate composed of the monoclonal antibody PB-223, which targets tumor-specific truncated core-2 O-glycans, conjugated to microtubule inhibitor MMAE and with a drug-to-antibody ratio of 3.92.
Clarivate plc has unveiled the 2025 Citation Laureates. Widely considered a predictor of the Nobel Prizes, this recognition has highlighted the discovery of biomolecular condensates in chemistry and the innate immunity signaling pathway in physiology or medicine, as well as the identification of leukemia stem cells and ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone.