NEW YORK, March 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Incysus, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering an innovative gamma-delta (γδ) T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of cancers, today announced the presentation of a scientific overview of the Company’s technology at the 2018 CAR-T Congress USA Meeting in Boston, MA on March 22, 2018.
Lawrence Lamb, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Cell Therapy Laboratory and the Company’s scientific co-founder, will present information related to Incysus’ drug-resistant immunotherapy (DRI) approach as a strategy for eliminating residual malignancies. He will discuss how γδ T cells can significantly extend relapse-free survival (RFS) in human and animal studies of hematopoietic and solid cancers. Using glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) as a model, the team at UAB has demonstrated that simultaneous chemotherapy-induced upregulation of NKG2D-ligand expression and infusion of γδ T cells genetically engineered to be chemotherapy-resistant, can result in significant RFS in a patient-derived xenograft model. Dr. Lamb will discuss the translation and early trial design of γδ T cell strategies for the treatment of leukemia and GBM.
Based on Dr. Lamb’s research, the DRI approach works to protect γδ T cells from the effects of chemotherapy, permitting a simultaneous combination of therapies to increase efficacy. This approach reduces immunosuppression and targets the DNA damage response, strengthening the immune signal on the tumor surface to drive greater innate immune activity. Further, DRI maintains the γδ T cell’s natural functions, uniquely allowing it to distinguish healthy tissue from tumor tissue.
“Dr. Lamb’s groundbreaking and ongoing work with γδ T cells has been the basis of the Incysus platform. DRI represents a truly innovative platform to treat solid-tumor cancers by uniquely harnessing a tumor’s own resistance mechanisms.” said William Ho, Chief Executive Officer of Incysus. “The combination of certain chemotherapies and gene-modified γδ T cell therapy can create synergies to produce a survival advantage for the treatment of cancer. We are excited about bringing these therapies to patients and plan to initiate Phase I human clinical trials later this year.”
Since Incysus’ inception, the Company has filed two Investigational New Drug applications (IND) and has initiated several cancer programs in early pre-clinical development. The Company’s first program targets leukemia and lymphoma patients. The IND for this program was approved by the FDA in October 2017. The Phase 1 trial has been designed to test the safety and activity of an activated and expanded γδ T cell infusion in patients undergoing haploidentical stem cell transplantation and is a step in potentially creating an allogeneic or “off the shelf” cell therapy. The Company’s second program is targeted at treatment of newly-diagnosed GBM and the IND was submitted to the FDA earlier this year. The planned Phase 1 trial will test the safety and activity of the Company’s DRI approach for solid-tumor cancers, combining standard-of-care high-dose chemotherapy with a genetically modified γδ T cell infusion. In collaboration with UAB, Incysus has advanced this technology, which addresses several mechanisms of immune suppression and evasion that have prevented the successful treatment of solid tumor cancers.
About Incysus, Ltd.
Incysus is focused on delivering a novel off-the-shelf cell therapy for the treatment of cancer. By using genetically modified gamma-delta (γδ) T cells, our technology addresses the challenges that immunotherapies face targeting cold, low mutation cancers. Incysus’ immuno-oncology programs include activated and gene-modified adoptive cellular therapies that protect cells from chemotherapy and allow novel combinations to disrupt the tumor microenvironment and more selectively target cancer cells. For more information, visit www.incysus.com.
Contact:
Incysus, Ltd
(646) 820-8474
info@incysus.com