Avalon GloboCare, UPMC Hillman and University of Pittsburgh to develop new cancer immunotherapy – Proactive Investors USA & Canada

Posted: August 5, 2021 at 1:51 am

Avalon GloboCare FLASH-CAR technology, will be used as an innovative messenger ribonucleic acid based technology platform that will allow researchers to create CAR cellular therapies faster than before

The collaboration will develop new cancer immunotherapy approaches and streamline manufacturing processes to bring powerful treatments to cancer patients within days instead of weeks

(), UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and the University of Pittsburgh said they have forged a collaboration to develop new cancer immunotherapy approaches and streamline manufacturing processes to bring powerful treatments to cancer patients within days instead of weeks.

Cancer immunotherapy, which stimulates and trains a patients own immune system to target and kill tumors while leaving healthy cells intact, is an effective treatment for many cancer patients. One of these therapies, cancer immunotherapy called CAR-T, short for chimeric antigen receptor therapy, alters a patients own T-cells to kill their cancer cells.

This approach has been successful for some patients with leukemias, lymphomas and more recently, multiple myeloma, but only a limited number of patients have been able to benefit from these therapies, noted the new partners in ajoint statement.

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The collaboration, led by Yen-Michael S Hsu, director of the Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory (IMCPL) at UPMC Hillman, seeks to develop next-generation CAR-based cellular therapies to make them accessible to a wider range of cancer patients.

CAR T-cell therapies approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are personalized therapies, made from the patients own cells. Current therapies use a DNA-based viral vector to engineer expression of the CAR against an antigen present on tumor cells. Patient cells are modified in the lab and infused back into the patient in a process that takes several weeks.

With Avalon GloboCare FLASH-CAR technology, we will use an innovative messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based technology platform that will allow researchers to create CAR cellular therapies faster than before in just one to two days, said Hsu.

We also believe this approach will reduce toxicity and overall cost associated with current CAR T-cell therapies, meaning more cancer patients could be eligible for this type of cellular therapy, he added.

The researchers are also using the technology to develop next-generation, personalized CAR T-cell therapies, including engineering cells that target more than one tumor antigen, enhancing their ability to target and kill cancer cells. Hillmans IMCPL and Avalon GloboCare are developing a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Human clinical trials are poised to begin in mid-2022, the partners said.

Another goal, according to Hsu, is to make universal or off-the-shelf CAR-based cancer immunotherapies. Unlike personalized treatments, this universal cellular therapy will be derived from a healthy donor, manufactured in bulk and available to treat patients without delay.

A clinician could order this cellular immunotherapy in the same way as antibody or oral cancer treatment, reducing the time a patient has to wait for treatment, said Hu. Because this cellular therapy would be made in a large batch, the cost of manufacturing would be much lower, resulting in a lower cost of the final cellular therapy products for patients.

The researchers are also working to streamline and enhance the quality of CAR T-cell manufacturing with Avalons Point-of-Care modular Autonomous Processing System ((PMAPsys) onsite at UPMC Hillman, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer center.

Hillmans IMCPL supports investigator-initiated research and technical expertise in translating lab research into clinical biologic products.

Freehold, New Jersey-based Avalon GloboCare is a clinical stage developer of cell-based and exosome technologies and manages stem-cell banks and clinical labs.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive

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Avalon GloboCare, UPMC Hillman and University of Pittsburgh to develop new cancer immunotherapy - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

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