On April 26, 2022 NexImmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to orchestrate a targeted immune response by directing the function of antigen-specific T cells, reported a preclinical research collaboration with Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s (CUIMC) Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) (Press release, NexImmune, APR 26, 2022, View Source [SID1234612979]). The research will focus on the use of NexImmune’s adoptive cell therapy, AIM ACT, in Columbia’s patient-derived organoid (PDO) models of HPV-associated cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Columbia scientists Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Brian Henick, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, will lead the research. Dr. Anil Rustgi, Director of HICCC, will join Drs. Nakagawa and Henick in the investigations. HICCC is an NCI designated cancer center that is at the forefront of discovery science, translational medicine, clinical trials, clinical care and community outreach.

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"HPV-associated cancers remain an area with a large unmet medical need," said Dr. Jerry Zeldis, Executive Vice President, R&D of NexImmune. "Our collaboration with Columbia University Irving Medical Center will continue to help us develop new therapies for those patients that are not adequately treated and cured with existing standard of care."

"Our labs have pioneered the development and characterization of PDO systems that resemble the primary tumor, both phenotypically and genotypically," said Dr. Nakagawa. "Using these PDOs, we will seek to rapidly assess the therapeutic potential of NexImmune’s patient-derived T cells in HPV-associated tumors and precancerous cells."