On April 6, 2020 Medigene AG (MDG1, Frankfurt, Prime Standard), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company focusing on the development of T cell immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, reported that it was granted patents from the Japanese Patent Office (JP6676759) and from the New Zealand Patent Office (NZ741954) (Press release, MediGene, APR 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234556178]). The patents cover the novel CrossTAg-1 technology that allows cross-presentation of antigens on both class I and II Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules, also called "Human Leukocyte Antigens" (HLA) in humans.
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Medigene believes that CrossTAg-1 is a powerful new technology for dendritic cell vaccine development as it directs short peptides from an antigen to be effectively processed by cellular pathways for both class I and class II HLA presentation, thereby stimulating both cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells, respectively. The activation of these major T cell subsets is a key feature of optimal immune responses, including those against cancer.
The CrossTAg-1 technology can therefore also substantially enhance Medigene’s TCR platform as it enables the identification and selection of tumor-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) expressed by both of these key T cell subsets.
Medigene Immunotherapies GmbH and Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU) are co-applicants and the patents falls under the main license agreement in place with HMGU.
Prof. Dolores J. Schendel, CEO/CSO of Medigene: "The granted patents are of particular relevance for the further development of our immunotherapies as the novel technology assures that we can activate both helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells specific for peptides derived from the same cancer antigen. In patients, the interaction of both types of T cells is needed for best immunity to ultimately fight and control the cancer."