Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts tagged ‘gamma delta T cells’

Unexpected developments at SITC23

Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego

Every now and then you come across some initial phase 1 data which turns your head and makes you wonder why it is working so well in heavily pretreated patients and what’s different about its particular design?

This was my reaction last week reading a SITC abstract – I wanted to learn more about not only the molecule itself, but also the other early stage agents with different targets being presented.

And here we are because it turned out there’s some nifty reasons why it worked when a prior drug against the same target had already failed in some patients as we discovered when talking to the company in our latest in-depth interview…

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Changing of the guard

A frequent challenge in oncology R&D is the fast paced nature of pipeline development such that there’s always something cool or new coming along nipping at the heels of those further ahead in clinical development coupled with the changing of the broader landscape before you even get to market.

What this means is companies with agents in phase 2 development can frequently feel rather squeezed between the two extremes.

This can lead to a lot of pondering on whether they will have enough innovation to make an impact on whatever are the favoured approaches by the time they might get to market, while at the same time offering sufficient protection against the novel compounds coming along behind.  Obviously no one drug is perfect and each will have their own achilles heels, to add to the mix and uncertainty.

For some time now there hasn’t been much in the form of new approaches in prostate cancer beyond the myriad of androgen receptor antagonists in various treatment niches plus the PARP inhibitors in a select population of men with BRCA mutations… what then?

A big question targeted therapies often have to address is their impressive initial response rates and PFS based on RECIST measurements don’t always translate into people living longer, as measured by overall survival.  No drug is without toxicities either, which means these need to be factored into the final clinical decision making and can make or break early uptake more than initially realised.

In our latest review we highlight some examples of where the field might be headed next (or not), based on some new preclinical and clinical data presented…

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5 early developments to watch out for at AACR21

In our latest AACR21 Preview — you can check out the whole series here — we turn to some intriguing new product developments coming along the pike.

For many scientists, the lure of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting isn’t about the glossy phase 1 or 2 clinical readouts, but rather about the early science.

We can think about questions such as are there any new competitors coming along in a particular niche, are there novel targets of interest which can be drugged, what’s rising in the cell therapy space, are there other cells which are seeing interest, and so on.

We cover all of these and more in this review…

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Putting NK cells to work

Last week we talked about finding ways to make the T cells work harder and smarter – there are numerous ways to do this, but cytokines might be one interesting way to begin the search.

What about NK and other immune cells though, can we do the same with these too?

This week we are focusing on various cell therapy approaches with some academic and industry interviews to share, along with some analysis of arising issues as well as some new developments to review and discuss.

In the first of the series, we have an academic thought leader in the spotlight who had a few interesting points to make on novel cell therapies…

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Are gamma delta T cells ready yet for prime time?

Not in San Diego: We took a close look at the potential for targeting gamma delta (𝞬𝝳) T cells early last year in an extended mini-series looking at the landscape including some of the early companies leading the way in this niche.

Since then there’s been a raft of company related announcements and collaborations in recent months, highlighting the ongoing interest in this field.

In this post, it’s time to revisit the original landscape (link), as well as explore how well some of the biotech companies who are active in this space are navigating the R&D roller coaster.

We will also be discussing recent data presented at the AACR20 virtual meetings.

So what did we learn about gamma delta T Cell therapies at AACR20 – who stands out from the increasingly crowded pack?

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ASGCT20 Gems from the ePoster Hall

A high tide marker stands out on the beach, what stood out at ASGCT20 for you?

As Covid–19 continues to exert its impact on the cancer conference schedule, the good news is that it isn’t a total wrecking ball effect as organisations turn to virtual meetings to enable researchers to share their work.

Some of the events we have ‘attended’ this year have been prerecorded in advance, while others have taken the form of live events. Having listened to both, I can say they have advantages and disadvantages either way.

To me, it doesn’t really matter if you are flexible and appreciate the effort the scientists are making to show their wares.

This week it’s the turn of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) to be in the spotlight with a truly ‘live’ meeting.

In the latest post, we focus on some key Gems from the Poster Halls…

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Incysus Targets GBM with Gamma Delta T Cells

If the best way to predict the future is to invent it then the poster sessions at the AACR annual meeting are frequently a window into the next generation of cancer drugs and therapies. Regular attendees at AACR will know that there are gems to be found in the posters, and that preclinical research on display may end up being translated into the clinic not long afterwards.

Like wearing a new set of clothes for lunch and dinner, with the exception of the first and last days, there’s a different set of posters in the morning and afternoon – that’s a lot of posters one can get through during a conference!

Indeed, MSKCC Chief Analytics Officer, Ari Caroline, noted on Twitter, “I may have spent more time at AACR this year at the posters than at the sessions.”

Dr Larry Lamb CSO Incysus

One story that we continue to follow this year is the emerging interest in unconventional T cells. The good news was that there was new data at AACR19.

We covered Puretech Health and their posters last week while another related one in the same niche that caught our attention was presented by Dr Lawrence Lamb (right).

On April 1, 2019 Incysus announced that the FDA had approved their IND application for a novel gamma-delta T cell therapy for treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (link to press release).

At AACR19 we met up with Dr Lamb, who is now Chief Scientific Officer of Incysus Therapeutics, to find out more about his research and how Incysus plan to translate it into the clinic.

This is a continuation of our series on gamma delta (𝞬𝝳) T cells exploring the multitude of different ways that illustrate their potential for cancer immunotherapy in hematologic malignancies and solid tumours.

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Are 𝞬𝝳 T cells immuno-suppressive and should we delete them?

We’re continuing our series following the development of novel cutting edge strategies targeting gamma delta (𝞬𝝳) T cells, with a look at the two approaches Puretech Health are pursuing based on the research of Dr George Miller (NYU Langone).

Data was presented at #AACR19 for a first-in-class immunotherapy targeting immune-suppressive delta 1 containing 𝞬𝝳 T cells and one targeting Galectin–9.

Drs Panchenko and Filipovic at their AACR19 poster

We recently spoke with Dr Aleksandra Filipovic, therapeutic lead for oncology at Puretech Health, she’s pictured right with Dr Tatyana Panchenko from NYU Langone at their AACR poster.

Dr Filiopovic told BSB that Puretech are looking for the next big IO breakthrough:

“We looked at this landscape and the massive amount of trials going on. We said ok, if we’re going to go into the space of immuno-oncology, what is it that we need to do differently in order to, upfront, try and ensure that we’re going after targets which could be the next PD–1. Our thinking went along the lines that we would really need to identify those next checkpoints, those next foundational modulators of the immune system.”

This is the first of two interviews from #AACR19 on novel strategies to target 𝞬𝝳 T cells, an emerging area that companies are looking at with both antibody and adoptive cellular therapy approaches. Do check out our previous mini-series if you missed it.

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A tale of 3 cellular therapy companies

London – last week a half day event at The Francis Crick Institute looked at three UK cell therapy companies that have been spun out of academic research from partner institutions, UCL and King’s College London.

Medicine at Crick Welcome

Professor Julian Downward welcomes everyone to The Crick

We heard from the CEOs of Achilles Therapeutics, GammaDelta Therapeutics and Autolus Therapeutics on how they are translating science into new adoptive cellular therapies.

There were also presentations from leading scientists whose research they are commercializing.

All three companies were founded in 2016, so the event was a fascinating snapshot as to where are they now, roughly 3 years on, what have they achieved and where are they going.

They vary in terms of their vision, innovation and their adoptive cellular therapy approach.

Autolus are developing autologous CAR-T cell therapies, GammaDelta Therapeutics are focusing on allogeneic Vδ1 gamma delta (ϒδ) T cells, while Achilles Therapeutics are targeting patient-derived clonal neoantigens.

If you couldn’t make this Medicine at the Crick event, what were some of the take home messages, and how do we think these companies compare to some of their competitors?

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TC BioPharm leads the way in allogeneic gamma delta T cells

For the final post in our mini series on the potential of gamma delta (γδ) T cells for cancer immunotherapy, we’re traveling to Scotland with a visit to a company that is a poster child for Scottish enterprise.

TC BioPharm Office Building

TC (as in T cell) BioPharm are leading the way in development of allogeneic γδ T cell therapies. They’ve already completed a trial of autologous γδ T cell therapy to establish safety and now have an allogeneic phase 1 trial underway in Prague.

TC BioPharm logoCEO and Founder, Dr Michael Leek, has built a company that already counts bluebird bio (NASDAQ: $BLUE) as one its partners (Link).

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Dr Angela Scott was part of the team that cloned the first mammal, “Dolly the Sheep.”

Angela Scott COO and Co-Founder of TC BioPharm

Dr Angela Scott, COO

She was recently profiled in The Herald (Link) and her cell therapy experience has been instrumental in the development of the company’s own GMP manufacturing facility in Scotland.

As the Herald article notes, the company is being positioned for a possible NASDAQ IPO in 2020, so is definitely one to watch out for.

We all remember catchy advertising slogans, and one I remember well is for the now defunct Orange mobile phone network in the UK: “The future is bright, the future is orange.”

If you’re TC BioPharm then maybe this could be construed as: “The future is bright, the future is allogeneic” (γδ T cells).

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