T-Cells

Tokyo-based Takeda Pharmaceutical has optioned to acquire Adaptate Biotherapeutics, a UK company focused on developing antibody-based therapeutics for the modulation of variable delta 1 (Vδ1) gamma delta (γδ) T cells.   The acquisition   Takeda will obtain Adaptate’s antibody-based γδ T cell engager platform, including pre-clinical candidate and discovery pipeline programmes. Adaptate’s γδ T cell engagers are designed to specifically modulate γδ T cell-mediated immune responses at tumour sites while sparing […]

A study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has shown that an experimental immunotherapy can temporarily reprogramme patients’ immune cells to attack a specific target via only a single injection of mRNA, similar to the mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines.  Context  The researchers, whose work is published in Science, demonstrated the new approach with an […]

Not only is there is a severe lack of effective T-cell lymphoma (TCL) treatments, according to GlobalData, but the data and analytics company does not expect any significant solutions to appear in the next decade.  Context  According to GlobalData, one key unmet need is found in the cutaneous TCL (CTCL) subtype. Early-stage CTCL has a favourable prognosis and is […]

The first results of an early trial of a multivariant Covid-19 vaccine booster, launched in Manchester in September 2021, has shown it is driving a comprehensive immune response.  The results  US-based biotechnology company Gritstone bio, in collaboration with The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, revealed the initial Phase I clinical data […]

Dr Ian Walters, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Portage Biotech, shares how to find the path of least resistance through the immuno-oncology landscape.  Our bodies are naturally trained to identify and remove abnormal cells, including those that are cancerous. Under normal circumstances, a person’s immune system detects proteins on the surface of cancer cells and targets them for elimination. The main cells of the immune system that kill […]

Research by the Riken Institute in Tokyo, published in the British journal Communications Biology, offers an explanation for Japan’s success in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic when compared with other countries. The research is a piece of the puzzle of why there remains relatively low rates of death and serious illness from Covid-19 in Japan.  Following […]

Over the last decade, groundbreaking chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies have become a well-established cancer treatment modality. Clinical research continues to demonstrate the encouraging potential this approach holds for treating a wide array of conditions while increasing safety, tolerability, and efficiency in manufacturing. Atara Biotherapeutics, a California-based biotechnology company, seeks to harness the immune […]

HOOKIPA Pharma is advancing HB-201 to Phase II to be evaluated in combination with pembrolizumab as first or second-line treatment for Human Papillomavirus Positive 16 (HPV16+) squamous cell head and neck cancers (HNSCC).   Interim Phase I data in heavily pre-treated patients continue to show HB-200 monotherapy (both HB-201 alone and HB-202/HB-201) is highly effective at […]

A study has found that some people are able to clear the Covid-19 virus quickly due to strong immune response from existing T-cells, which could lead to a new generation of vaccine development.   In a study published in Nature, researchers found that individuals with potential exposure to Covid-19 do not necessarily develop PCR or antibody […]

Scientists and clinicians at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) studying the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies in children with leukaemia, have discovered a small sub-set of T-cells that are likely to play a key role in whether the treatment is successful. Researchers say that stem cell memory T-cells appear critical in both destroying […]