On July 26, 2023 CoImmune, Inc., a clinical stage immuno-oncology company working to redefine cancer treatment using best-in-class cellular immunotherapies, reported the publication of preclinical results with Synthetic Enzyme-Armed Killer (SEAKER) cells in solid tumor melanomas in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Immunology Research (Press release, CoImmune, JUL 26, 2023, View Source [SID1234633440]).
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The recently published paper titled, "Host Interactions with Engineered T cell Micropharmacies," describes seminal work by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) including David A. Scheinberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Deputy Director, Therapeutic Discovery, Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI), and Derek S. Tan, Ph.D., Chairman of the Chemical Biology Program, SKI. The work evaluates SEAKER cells designed to target solid-tumor melanomas in syngeneic mouse models using specific targeting with T cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells. Results demonstrate that SEAKER cells localize specifically to tumors and activate bioactive prodrugs, providing efficacy against melanoma tumors in immunocompetent hosts.
"As we continue to advance a development program based on our proprietary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified cytokine induced killer (CIK) cell platform, we are investigating technologies that could help deliver additional agents locally to tumor sites to mitigate tumor escape by loss of targeted antigens and tumor induced immunosuppression," said Charles Nicolette, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CoImmune. "Our goal is to overcome the barriers to the treatment of solid tumors, and this new publication evaluating SEAKER cells in solid tumor melanoma models is another encouraging step in that direction."
CoImmune has acquired the rights to several technologies developed at MSK including SEAKER cells that combine the target-seeking power of immune cells with the ability to locally generate a potent anticancer drug at the tumor site without systemic toxicity, also referred to as a "micropharmacy."
"Genetically engineered, cytotoxic, adoptive T cells localize to antigen positive cancer cells inside patients, but tumor heterogeneity and multiple immune escape mechanisms have prevented the eradication of most solid tumors," said Dr. Scheinberg. "SEAKER cells can be designed to express a prodrug converting enzyme to achieve high active anti-tumor drug levels at tumor sites. This preclinical work demonstrates that the SEAKER platform is applicable to many adoptive cell therapies."