Adoptive Cell Therapy in Solid Tumors: Who, How, and When?
Just
7 years since Novartis paid UPenn $20M to access Carl June’s anti-CD19
CAR-T technology, the field of adoptive cell therapy (ACT) in cancer has
expanded dramatically, both in investment activity and technology
proliferation. At present, it is estimated that there are at least 150
pre-commercial ACT-focused companies in the US and EU alone, many of
which are less than 5 years old. While some of these newcos are pursuing
fast-follower strategies, many are developing novel technology
platforms, each with a unique value proposition that has proven
sufficient to incentivize investors.
Whereas
future projections for ACT-based revenues currently stem from products
in heme malignancies, the lion’s share of hope (or hype) in ACT hinges
on whether it can effectively treat solid tumors in a durable and
reproducible manner. Many would agree that solid tumors are more
challenging due to complexities within the tumor microenvironment
requiring innovations that address cell trafficking and
immunosuppression, among other parameters. Furthermore, few (if any)
antigen targets are expressed solely on tumor tissue, raising the specter of off-tumor toxicity in the absence of dual-targeting or
suicide switches, targeting of intracellular antigens or neoantigens,
and/or engineering novel cell types such as NKs, macrophages, and
gamma-delta T-cells.
While
ACTs have yet to score any major wins in solid tumors beyond the early success of TILs, many early-stage clinical programs are slated to
readout within the next few years.
Our expert panel provided their views on the most exciting new developments, what they seek to license, what data they must see to do deals, and more. Sign up to replay the informative discussion panel anytime.