Kanya Rajangam – VJRegenMed

Liquid vs solid tumor strategies in cell therapy

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:53:03 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, provides an overview of the challenges in developing cell therapies in liquid and solid tumors. Whilst chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have been successful in B-cell malignancies such as myeloma, safety and cost issues as a result of T-cell expansion remain a barrier to widespread adoption. Further research is additionally required to enable the approval of cell therapies in other indications such as solid tumors and other B-cell malignancies including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.

Advantages of allogeneic NK cell therapy

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:53:02 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, discusses the benefits of developing allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies. Allogeneic therapies have gained traction in recent years within the advanced therapies sector, due to lower manufacturing costs. NK cell therapies additionally lack T-cell receptors unlike chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products, mitigating the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and have a better safety profile due to minimal cytokine release syndrome. This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.

Developments in NK cell therapy

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:53:01 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, gives an update of current advancements in allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies. Addition of membrane-bound IL-15 has enabled NK cells to be active for longer, enhancing efficacy when administered in patients. Whilst NK cells are more difficult to cryopreserve compared to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, improvements in cryopreservation techniques have allowed multi-center clinical trials to be successfully conducted. This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.

Treating hematologic malignancies with immunotherapy

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:53:00 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, describes current challenges in using advanced therapies in hematologic malignancies. Whilst immunotherapies including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies have improved complete response rates in a number of patients across different indications, major development issues remain. Decreasing costs and wait times for patients are hurdles that need to be overcome and safety concerns additionally need to be addressed to improve accessibility by removing the need for tertiary care. This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.

Allogeneic NKX101 in liver cancer

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:52:59 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, discusses NKX101 in solid tumor indications. NKX101, an allogeneic NKG2D receptor chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapy, is currently being assessed in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or high risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in a Phase I trial (NCT04623944). In addition to AML and MDS, NKX101 use is being extended to liver localized tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and metastatic colorectal cancer. Transarterial delivery will enable successful trafficking of the cell therapy to the tumor by concentrating NKX101 in the tumor. This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.

NKX019 in B-cell malignancies

Simon Ng — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:52:58 +0000

Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD, NKarta Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, describes the development of NKX019, an off-the-shelf CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapy in patients with B-cell malignancies including lymphomas and leukemias. NKX019 aims to address current challenges CAR-T cell therapies face by improving safety and patient accessibility whilst maintaining efficacy. This interview took place at Meeting on the Mesa 2021.