Tag Archives: B7

TIGIT, a CTLA4-esque Immune Checkpoint for Cancer

Immune checkpoint-directed therapy is producing unprecedented clinical results in many patients. So much so, that the FDA recently reversed its longstanding policy or approving cancer drugs based on site of origin, to the presence of a biomarker (microsatellite instability (MSI-H) or mismatch-deficient repair (dMDR) as the indication for therapy with pembrolizumab (Ketruda), and PD-1 blocker. Cancers expressing MSI-H or dMDR mutate at a rapid rate, presenting novel epitopes to the immune system, which is readily mobilized against them so that tumor infiltrating T-cells are reliably present. Blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in this context allows for prolongation of the immune response and better clinical results. Continue reading

Immatics and MD Anderson Collaborate on IL-21 for Cancer Immunotherapy

Immatics, a German biotechnology company has established a subsidiary in Houston, TX to collaborate with MD Anderson on overcoming some of the limitations to the adoptive T cell therapies now in the immuno-oncology pipeline. The collaboration covers the use of cytokine IL-21 to expand high-quality T cell batches, particularly those generated by CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) and related approaches. Continue reading