https://www.bioworld.com/rss en-us Certain cancers that contain organized clusters of immune cells known as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) do not respond to treatment as well as expected. Even though they have TLS that support the elimination of cancer cells, they remain resistant to immunotherapy. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), better known as the brain’s major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may play a role in this lack of response by acting as an immunoregulatory metabolite, according to a study led by scientists at Sorbonne Université. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/732642 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/732642-gaba-signaling-linked-to-immune-resistance-in-some-tumors Illustration of T cells attacking cancer Multiple companies are chasing Akeso Inc. and Summit Therapeutics Inc. in the battle to potentially dethrone Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) as the top cancer immunotherapy for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer with bispecific antibodies targeting PD-(L)1 and VEGF. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/731513 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/731513-asco-2026-pd-l1-x-vegf-bispecifics-fight-it-out Bispecific antibodies with heavy chain in green and pink, light chain in blue and yellow Finnish cancer immunotherapy specialist Valo Therapeutics Oy has raised €19 million (US$20.7 million) in a round that attracted Italian and Australian investors, and funding the company to the completion of the ongoing phase Ib trial of its lead program in the treatment of solid tumors. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/718113 Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/718113-valo-raises-19m-for-immunotherapy-work LTZ Therapeutics Inc. has completed a series A financing of more than $20 million to advance the development of its myeloid engager pipeline to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The closing of this round brings LTZ’s total funding to about $50 million. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/711096 Thu, 01 Aug 2024 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/711096-ltz-completes-series-a-of-more-than-20m Hand holding dollar sign The 2024 meeting of the International AIDS Society (IAS), which is being held in Munich this week, began with the announcement of another curative bone marrow transplant. The new case brings the total number of patients cured of HIV via a bone marrow transplant up to 7 since “Berlin patient” Timothy Ray Brown became the first such person in 2007. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/710677 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/710677-ias-2024-seventh-hiv-cure-reported-but-broad-reach-will-take-other-approaches Cross section illustration of HIV virus parts A research team at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), funded by Cancervax Inc., has created a promising new bispecific antibody vaccine for treating recurrent Ewing sarcoma. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/707627 Tue, 16 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/707627-cancervax-announces-discovery-of-bispecific-antibody-vaccine-for-ewing-sarcoma Vaccine vial and syringe Conformation-X Therapeutics LLC has closed an oversubscribed funding tranche of $3.65 million to support the company’s development of a pipeline of immunotherapies that activate both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/707230 Thu, 04 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/707230-new-funding-at-conformation-x-supports-pipeline-of-immune-checkpoint-inhibitors Immune checkpoint inhibitors illustration of PD-1, CTLA-4 and PD-L1. A new method of CAR T-cell immunotherapy developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine could serve as a treatment for most blood cancers. Until now, CAR T-based immunotherapy for hematological malignancies has targeted the antigens CD19 for B cells, CD7 for T cells, BCMA for myeloma, and CD33 for AML. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/701164 Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/701164-epitope-editing-in-hematopoietic-cells-provides-car-t-immunotherapy-against-all-types-of-blood-cancer Cells, DNA illustration Hanchorbio Inc. and Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. have entered into a strategic framework agreement for collaboration to combine Hanchorbio’s protein engineering expertise and proprietary Fc-based designer biologics (FBDB) technology platform with Henlius’ integrated product development and commercialization capabilities. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/700414 Tue, 29 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/700414-hanchorbio-and-henlius-collaborate-to-develop-novel-cancer-immunotherapies Illustration of cancer cells and immunotherapy treatment Adaptative immune response mediated by NKG2D receptor and its ligand NKG2DL could be the clue for CD8-expressing “killer” T cells to kill tumors lacking the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, according to a group of researchers at Duke University. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/700309 Thu, 24 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/700309-killer-t-cells-go-after-mhc-i-deficient-tumors-through-nkg2d-receptor Georgiamune Inc. announced that the FDA cleared its IND application for GIM-122, a first-in-class dual-functioning monoclonal antibody designed to target a highly novel mechanism to overcome immunotherapy resistance. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/699822 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/699822-fda-clears-georgiamunes-ind-application-for-gim-122 Antibodies attacking cancer cell Most drug developers working in the immunotherapy space focus on existing therapeutic targets when developing cancer drugs, optimizing ways of drugging them via engineering modalities such as CAR T-cell approaches, CRISPR editing or antibody-drug conjugates that deliver toxic payloads. The angle of one company – Cartography Biosciences – is the opposite to this. Its modus operandi is to pinpoint the immunological targets first, leveraging tools that already exist, before building therapies around them. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/698815 Tue, 11 Jul 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/698815-precision-target-discovery-at-forefront-for-immunotherapy-startup-cartography Cartography immunotherapy target illustratio Credit: Cartography Biosciences Most drug developers working in the immunotherapy space focus on existing therapeutic targets when developing cancer drugs, optimizing ways of drugging them via engineering modalities such as CAR T-cell approaches, CRISPR editing or antibody-drug conjugates that deliver toxic payloads. The angle of one company – Cartography Biosciences – is the opposite to this. Its modus operandi is to pinpoint the immunological targets first, leveraging tools that already exist, before building therapies around them. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/698678 Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/698678-precision-target-discovery-at-forefront-for-immunotherapy-startup-cartography Cartography immunotherapy target illustratio Credit: Cartography Biosciences T cells do not have the last word in some breast cancers. According to a study from the University of Pittsburgh, the key to estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast tumors are macrophages, not T cells, and targeting them could prevent immunotherapy failure in this type of cancer. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/695254 Mon, 20 Mar 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/695254-macrophages-drive-invasive-breast-cancer The traps that neutrophils develop against microorganisms also hold T cells and prevent the success of immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. To free the immune system from itself, scientists at the Istituto Oncologico Veneto in Italy made a key that unlocked this sticky dungeon from an antibody against arginase-1 (ARG1), an enzyme also present in the trap. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/695194 Thu, 16 Mar 2023 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/695194-releasing-t-cells-from-neutrophil-traps-restores-immunotherapy-in-pancreatic-cancer Rise Therapeutics LLC has received FDA clearance for its IND application to proceed with a phase I trial of R-3750, a synthetic biology-based cellular immunotherapy being developed for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The phase I trial will enroll patients with mild to moderate ulcerative. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/693835 Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/693835-rise-therapeutics-to-advance-r-3750-immunotherapy-for-ulcerative-colitis Gastrointestinal system with ulcerative colitis. Unexpected behavior of neutrophils unveiled by researchers at Stanford University could lead to a new type of immunotherapy to treat cancer. Although various studies have suggested that these cells are harmful due to their immunosuppressive characteristics, the scientists saw in them an opportunity to redirect them and eliminate tumors. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/693677 Fri, 27 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/693677-redeeming-neutrophils-could-be-anticancer-approach Neutrophil and red blood cells Immunotherapy, a treatment that increases the survival of cancer patients to the point of remission of the disease, can also have the opposite effect. In some patients, immune checkpoint blockade accelerates cancer. Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered that the answer to this hyperprogressive disease (HPD) lies in the interconnection of the molecular pathways of interferon signaling (IFNγ), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and the β-catenin protein. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/693355 Fri, 20 Jan 2023 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/693355-oncogene-activation-during-immunotherapy-triggers-cancer-hyperprogression Cancer cells under magnifying glass Cofactor Genomics Inc. opened the non-small-cell lung cancer portion of its study of the Oncoprism test, which predicts response to immunotherapy. The Predicting Immunotherapy Efficacy from Analysis of Pre-treatment Tumor Biopsies (PREDAPT) trial will study the test’s predictive ability in 11 cancers in total. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/692557 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/692557-cofactor-genomics-expands-predapt-study-to-nsclc NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy has emerged as an anticancer treatment approach and is currently being tested in clinical trials. KIR2DL5, a member of the human killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family, has recently been identified as a binding partner for poliovirus receptor (PVR). However, the biology and therapeutic potential of the KIR2DL5/PVR pathway remain widely unexplored. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/692084 Wed, 07 Dec 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/692084-blocking-the-kir2dl5-pvr-pathway-boosts-nk-cell-based-cancer-immunotherapy Human natural killer cell Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a natural killer cell from a human donor. Credit: NIAID Previous research has shown that cytotoxic lymphocytes rely on gasdermin-mediated pyroptosis to kill tumor cells. Pyroptosis appears to be closely involved in anticancer immune response and has therefore emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment. In a recently published study, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison aimed to leverage gasdermin-triggered pyroptosis for antitumor immunotherapy. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/692078 Wed, 07 Dec 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/692078-new-hydrogel-based-delivery-platform-exploits-gasdermin-induced-tumor-pyroptosis-to-kill-tumor-cells Illustration of cancer cells and immunotherapy treatment Sana Biotechnology Inc. has outlined the status of its pipeline following a portfolio prioritization. The company remains on track to file an IND this year for SC-291, the company's HIP-modified, CD19-targeted allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, with initial clinical data expected next year. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/691980 Wed, 30 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/691980-sana-outlines-preclinical-pipeline-progress-following-portfolio-prioritization CAR T cell with implanted gene strand Point Biopharma Global Inc. has released new preclinical data from its pan-cancer fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP-α) targeted program, PNT-2004. The preclinical study focused on assessing the potential of the lead candidate in the PNT-2004 clinical program, [177Lu]PNT-6555, in combination with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immunotherapy. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/691979 Wed, 30 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/691979-177lupnt-6555-with-immunotherapy-increases-survival-benefit-in-anti-pd-1-resistant-tumor-model Umoja Biopharma Inc. and Nanjing Iaso Biotherapeutics Co. Ltd. have entered into a research agreement to evaluate Umoja's ICIL (induced cytotoxic innate lymphocytes) platform with Iaso's best-in-class chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). http://www.bioworld.com/articles/691804 Tue, 22 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/691804-umoja-and-iaso-partner-to-advance-off-the-shelf-therapies-for-hematological-malignancies Acute myeloid leukemia illustration Sensei Biotherapeutics Inc. has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Washington University in St. Louis to support development of SNS-101, a conditionally active V-type immunoglobulin domain-containing suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA)-blocking antibody. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/691803 Tue, 22 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/691803-sensei-collaborates-with-washington-university-to-elucidate-sns-101s-mechanism-of-antitumor-activity 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. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/691009 Thu, 27 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/691009-fda-approves-orphan-drug-application-for-tlr-ad1-immunotherapy Brain cancer illustration Researchers from Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc presented preclinical data for LB-101, a novel first-in-class immunotherapy targeting solid tumors. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/689684 Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/689684-lb-101-a-novel-lockbody-immunotherapy-candidate-targeting-solid-tumors 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. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/689626 Wed, 14 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/689626-bioengineered-multifunctional-exosomes-evoke-cancer-immunity 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. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/689575 Tue, 13 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/689575-mc5r-antagonism-enhances-tumor-immunity-in-ict-resistant-cancers 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. http://www.bioworld.com/articles/689500 Fri, 09 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.bioworld.com/articles/689500-nr2f6-antagonist-tes-4207-shows-promising-preclinical-results-for-cancer