On August 24, 2023 Xcell Biosciences Inc. (Xcellbio), an instrumentation company focused on cell and gene therapy applications, reported that it has achieved key milestones in its R&D collaboration with Labcorp, a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, aimed at driving innovation in the development and validation of cell and gene therapies (Press release, Xcell Biosciences, AUG 24, 2023, View Source [SID1234634692]). Those milestones include jointly generated results that have supported new intellectual property filings and data presented at scientific meetings.
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The collaboration between Xcellbio and Labcorp, announced last year, was established to facilitate joint projects focused on improving the safety and efficacy of cell and gene therapies. The projects included in the collaboration use Xcellbio’s proprietary AVATAR platform to metabolically reprogram tumor-targeting CAR T cells to enhance their potency and persistence in the suppressive solid tumor microenvironment (TME). The function of these cells is being tested on Xcellbio’s TME-reprogrammed tumor cell lines, which serve as a more physiologically representative platform for tumor-killing assays compared to standard tumor cell lines.
The collaboration has yielded data readouts that have been jointly submitted in intellectual property filings and publicly presented through two posters at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper). These data include demonstrations of enhanced CAR T cell expansion, viral transduction, and potency as a result of utilizing the AVATAR platform. The observations were initially made in vitro and are now being validated through in vivo mouse studies to confirm the efficacy and translatability of the findings.
"Our work with Labcorp has demonstrated a significant leap in understanding how metabolic conditioning can dramatically affect cell therapy behavior, particularly within the solid tumor microenvironment," said James Lim, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Xcellbio, who is leading the study. "These preclinical studies are designed to assess the safety and efficacy of cell and gene therapies to support future programs that would develop or validate therapies for use in patients."
Recently, the collaboration has expanded to include the exploration of cell types beyond CAR T cells to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapies. Labcorp will use Xcellbio’s AVATAR platform to support the development of cell-based potency assays that incorporate critical TME factors, as well as the clinical manufacture of therapeutic cells that are metabolically reprogrammed for enhanced in vivo potency.
"We are thrilled with the outcomes achieved so far through our collaboration with Xcellbio and the significant strides we have made together in advancing cell and gene therapy research," said Maryland Franklin, Ph.D., Vice President and Enterprise Head of Cell and Gene Therapy at Labcorp. "The expansion of our partnership to include other cell types further showcases our shared commitment to driving innovation in therapeutic development."