Solid Tumors – VJRegenMed

Plasmacytoid dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:05 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, provides an overview of PDC*line, a novel cell line derived from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs) in the bones of patients with leukemia. The cell line is more potent than allogeneic or autologous myeloid cells and are not rejected in humans. He additionally highlights the ease of manufacturing cancer vaccines from PDC*line due to the consistency of the cell line. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Assessing PDC*mel, dendritic cell-based vaccine in melanoma

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:04 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, discusses the development of PDC*mel, a plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC)-derived vaccine for patients with melanoma. The investigational therapy consists of PDC*line loaded with four melanoma peptides and have the ability to be stored in liquid nitrogen. He also describes a Phase I trial (NCT01863108), which tested the vaccine in three different doses. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Developing a therapeutic cancer vaccine for patients with NSCLC

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:04 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, comments the development of PDC*lung, a novel therapeutic plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC)-derived vaccine for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). He describes the mechanism of action of the vaccine, where irradiated PDCs are loaded with peptides encoding various lung tumor antigens. A Phase I/II trial (NCT03970746) will assess the vaccine in 64 patients in either a high or low dose. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Optimizing the upscaling and outscaling of CAR T-cell therapies

Simon Ng — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 15:56:43 +0000

Saskia Rösch, PhD, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, describes novel approaches to enhance chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell manufacturing. Upscaling can incur cost-related barriers, especially for T-cell receptor (TCR) and allogeneic therapies in solid tumor indications, and utilizing non-viral vectors as well as reducing the cultivation time may ameliorate the aforementioned issues. Developers additionally face issues in outscaling due to complications in material and documentation management, and Dr Rösch suggests decentralization as a potential solution. Regulatory authorities must also collaborate to expedite the development of T-cell therapies. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Enhancing the long-term functionality of CAR-T cells in solid tumors

Simon Ng — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 09:52:51 +0000

The efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in solid tumors have been substandard as a result of CAR T-cell differentiation and exhaustion. Shigeki Yagyu, MD, PhD, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, comments on the need to improve CAR T-cell potency in solid tumors by optimizing long-term functionality. Despite lentiviral vectors predominantly being used in the engineering of CAR T-cell therapies, they may affect T-cell activity during cell expansion. Dr Yagyu discusses strategies to boost CAR T-cell efficacy including lowering PD-1 expression and reducing T-cell exhaustion. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Improving the efficiency of cancer vaccines with adoptive T cell therapy approaches

admin_vjr_user — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 15:59:58 +0000

Chiara Bonini, MD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University & IRCCS San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy, explains how the development and success of adoptive T cell therapies has helped evolve the landscape of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine development. Early cancer vaccines had low efficiencies and were only able to elicit therapeutic responses in a small number of patients, however, it is now believed that combining tumor vaccination with other therapies targeting immunosuppressive pathways such as adoptive T cell therapy could significantly enhance their clinical potential. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Adoptive T cell therapies for solid tumors: what are the key challenges?

admin_vjr_user — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 14:07:43 +0000

Chris Klebanoff, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses some of the key challenges associated with the clinical development of adoptive T cell therapies for solid tumors. The identification of high-quality, tumor-specific targets and dealing with antigen heterogeneity are key challenges discussed. In addition, Dr Klebanoff discusses difficulties associated with finding patients that express target antigens and highlights the need for less time-consuming and less expensive methods for patient identification. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Unanswered questions in developing engineered T cells for solid tumors

admin_vjr_user — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:46:20 +0000

Elvira D’Ippolito, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, discusses barriers in developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Whilst CAR T-cell therapy has demonstrated modest success in treating hematological malignancies, the immunosuppressive microenvironment of solid tumors inhibits T-cell activity by preventing their entry into the tumor. Dr D’Ippolito additionally addresses resistance to CAR T-cell therapies due to antigen escape, as well as suggests strategies to improve T-cells, including co-engineering of the T-cell, improving antigen presentation and multi-specific receptors. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Treating colorectal cancer with CoupledCAR technology

Simon Ng — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:46:22 +0000

Christopher Ballas, PhD, Innovative Cellular Therapeutics, Rockville, MD, comments on progress in evaluating CoupledCAR, a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy designed for solid tumors, in colorectal cancer. The investigational CAR T-cell therapy targets the antigen guanylate cyclase 2C (GCC) and whilst it is also expressed in normal tissue, targeting GCC has proven to be safe. Institutional Review Board (IRB) trials have demonstrated promising efficacy in patients in the third line setting. Dr Ballas additionally highlights how the target can be altered to treat alternative indications such as thyroid and prostate cancer. This interview took place at Advanced Therapies Week 2022.

Adapting to challenges in manufacturing cell therapies for solid tumors

Simon Ng — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:46:20 +0000

Whilst chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have been successful in hematological malignancies, solid tumors remain an unmet need especially in patients with colorectal cancer. Christopher Ballas, PhD, Innovative Cellular Therapeutics, Rockville, MD, describes strategies to increase the production of CAR T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Decentralized manufacturing and automation will enable therapies to be produced in a shorter timeframe, improve quality control, and facilitate the regulatory process. However, logistics and cost are issues that still need to be addressed. This interview took place at Advanced Therapies Week 2022.