Biotech Strategy Blog

Commentary on Science, Innovation & New Products with a focus on Oncology, Hematology & Immunotherapy

Posts tagged ‘CD19’

Critical Analysis of the Emerging Trispecific Landscape

Dawn of a new era or a setting sun on a tricky approach…

Three is a magic number – except when it isn’t.

Trispecific antibodies are one of the emerging stars on the multispecific stage, promising to hit not one, not two, but three targets with a single swing. It’s a tempting idea – who doesn’t love a good triple play?

With great ambition also comes great complexity, and not every design is ready for primetime.

At this year’s AACR, the trispecific party got a little louder.

From PD-1/CTLA-4/VEGF mashups to CD3-based T cell whisperers, the posters are brimming with innovation – and more than a few eyebrow-raisers.

So before we get swept up in the hype, let’s pause and ask a provocative question: is this a triple threat or a triple headache waiting to happen?

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Precision vs Power – The Next Generation of Immune Reset

For over a decade, cell therapy in cancer has embraced a simple philosophy: maximum firepower to eliminate malignant cells.

As these powerful tools enter autoimmune disease trials, however, a fascinating evolution is underway as companies begin releasing research on their pipelines at conferences.

Are the data breathing fire – or even too much of it?

From the early groundbreaking lupus studies to more precision targeting tools coming through preclinical development, researchers are discovering that finesse may well trump force when it comes to treating chronic inflammatory conditions.

This shift – from indiscriminate B cell destruction to more selective targeting of disease-driving cells – could redefine how we reset dysfunctional immune systems.

New data from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) meeting held this week in Washington DC showcases this transformation while highlighting innovative approaches under the radar, which may finally thread the needle between efficacy and safety.

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Choose wisely

In part two of our mini-series on tulip mania in Pharmaland, where oncology companies are switching their attention and focus from one niche to another, we take a look at how perceptions can change with time.

What looks a wide open landscape may not be all it first appears

Sometimes though, what initially looks like a less crowded space than the original one may rapidly turn out to be quite different than supposed in a very short space of time.

The moral of the story is be careful what you wish for because choosing wisely is just as important as executing, as we learn in this exercise…

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New directions in lymphomas

The landscape in various lymphoma subsets has changed in ways many may not have expected a decade or so ago and will continue to evolve further as new treatments against novel targets start to show their true colours.

Let’s not forget the original emergence of BTK inhibition caught a lot of people by surprise, so if we think about the next five years ahead, where might some of the next innovations come from and how might different segments potentially look in terms of new regimens?

In our latest expert interview, we take a look at an emerging pipeline in this hematologic niche and discuss where some of the early stage data might lead us to going forward.

Of course the caveat in oncology is most products will not actually make it to phase 3 development or even succeed there, yet the big attraction is in exploring emerging products to see where the trends might lead, because you never know which ones will shine down the road…

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SITC22 Preview 1 – Looking under the hood

In their first of our annual SITC Preview series for 2022 we are going to be focusing on addressing a critical issue, which has long stumped many a researcher.

Fall in Boston

I’m not a bit fan of combining two agents just because that’s what any given company has in their pipeline and trying to justify some vague rationale of what might work. This is akin to throwing spaghetti or mud at the wall and hoping something will stick – it’s a rather basic, if not crude, way to proceed with clinical development and relies more on hope than reason for success.

What if we looked at the data available from patients tumours and learned from the information instead?

This sounds obvious, yet few actually attempt a deep dive on this critical endeavour.

The good news is some companies making progress and are seeking to address the underlying biology of what lies beneath – as these examples we have selected highlight nicely…

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Development of Next Generation CAR T cell therapies

Now that at two CAR T cell therapies have been approved by the FDA in two indications, what does the future hold for new developments in both hematologic malignancies and solid tumours?

It was astonishing to explore the poster halls at AACR last month and see just how many new players and targets are emerging left, right and centre.

Last week we highlighted an up and coming new player on the scene, Mustang Bio, but what about the original pioneers in this niche and what are they up to these days?

To answer this question, we tracked down Dr Renier Brentjens at Memorial Sloan Kettering while in Chicago to learn more about his latest work and where he sees the future of CAR T cell therapy heading. It makes for a very interesting, and at times, surprising read…

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The dawn of a new beginning for Cellectis?

Paris – amazingly it’s now 3 years since we interviewed Cellectis (NASDAQ: $CLLS) CEO André Choulika and CSO Philippe Duchateau (See post: Can Cellectis revolutionise CAR T cell therapy):

Cellectis CSO CEO

Cellectis Senior Management – Drs Duchateau and Choulika

Since then, we’ve followed the company over time, including an interview with one of their leading scientists, Dr Julianne Smith at ASH 2014, followed by the initial results of their first allogeneic CAR T cell therapy UCART19 presented at #ASH15 by Professor Qasim.

It’s hard to believe 3 years have gone by so quickly! As regular readers know what we often do on BSB is follow stories longitudinally, so while in Paris for an Immuno-Oncology Summit we thought it a rather timely opportunity to revisit Cellectis and take stock of where they’re at and ask what the future may hold for them?

With the recent news that Gilead have acquired Kite Pharma, there’s going to be a lot of interest in what companies such as Cellectis are doing to bring allogeneic “off the shelf” CAR T cell therapy to market.

This is the penultimate post in our summer mini-series on gene editing and allogeneic CAR T cell therapy and features a candid interview with Dr Philippe Duchateau, Chief Scientific Officer, at Paris based Cellectis.

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AACR 2017 Preview 9

It’s finally time…

US Capitol Building, DC

By popular request from BSB readers, we have a CAR T cell therapy preview of the main abstracts to watch out for, including talks and posters, and what emerging themes to expect are likely to be.

If you are registered on the AACR site and signed in, then clicking on any of the abstracts highlighted in this review will enable you to add any interesting ones you fancy to your conference itinerary.

There’s a surprising amount to cover this year, especially when we consider the incredible work that’s ongoing to address a number of suboptimal aspects in the construct developments.  It’s continuing to progress at warp speed, so hold onto your hats and buckle down for our latest rock around the AACR clock.

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7 Things I Learned at #ASH16

San Diego – after “Flying Friday” where I flew from Munich to San Diego, Biotech Strategy Blog coverage of the 2016 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) is now done for another year.

Downtown San Diego during ASH 2016 With over 27,000 attendees – it’s the largest ASH annual meeting I’ve seen in 20 years of coming here!  ASH is definitely the pre-eminent global meeting for hematology and blood cancers.

As you might expect, the thought leaders at this event are super-busy, but we’ve already managed to catch up with a few, and we’ll be rolling out interviews in the “post-game show.”

Subscribers have been asking what’s really hot at ASH this weekend, so reflecting my interests and the sessions I went to, here are my seven highlights/learnings of ASH 2016 (so far). There’s a lot more data to come!

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Future of Cancer Immunotherapy

Port Sunglight SpringSpring has arrived in many parts of the world, and with it I am always reminded of William Wordsworth’s classic poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud:”

I wandered lonely as a cloud 
That floats on high o’er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host, of golden daffodils; 
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

 

So what does the future hold for cancer immunotherapy?

Inspired by Wordsworth, I’ve sat on my cloud and have looked at some of the recent review papers and thought pieces published by experts in the field. Do they offer a Jerry Maguire – like mission statement: “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business” or will we have to wait till AACR 2016 in New Orleans to learn more?

 

This is the latest in our pre-AACR 2016 annual meeting series. Subscribers can login to read more or you can purchase access.

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