On November 21, 2019 Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a biotechnology company developing the next-generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary self-delivering RNAi (INTASYL) therapeutic platform, reported that it expanded its research collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden (Press release, Phio Pharmaceuticals, NOV 21, 2019, View Source [SID1234551577]). The collaboration thus far has focused on the use of the Company’s self-delivering RNAi compounds against targets involved in T cell and NK cell differentiation and/or tumor-induced stress response, with the aim of producing anti-tumor adoptive cell therapy grafts with improved functionality and persistence. Based on compelling results, Phio Pharmaceuticals and Karolinska have agreed to extend and expand the collaboration to research aimed at decreasing immune-inhibitory factors in the tumor micro-environment and/or arming T cell, NK cell, dendritic cells and macrophages to overcome tumor immunosuppression utilizing Phio Pharmaceuticals’ INTASYL platform.
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This work will further align with ongoing translational research at the Karolinska Institutet, which combines adoptive T cell therapy and dendritic cell vaccination. The focus of the expanded collaboration will include developing a pathway to the clinic and establishing the utility of Phio Pharmaceuticals’ self-delivering RNAi in these therapeutic applications.
Dr. Gerrit Dispersyn, President and CEO of Phio Pharmaceuticals, stated, "Over the last year, our collaboration with Dr. Kiessling’s group at the Karolinska Institutet has led to exciting results with several compounds in both T cells and NK cells, including the results presented earlier this month at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2019 Annual Meeting showing that INTASYL technology can be used to expand T cells with superior anti-tumor potential for adoptive cell therapies. Our continued collaboration will build upon these findings and expand to additional targets and cell types. We are very pleased to be working with Dr. Kiessling and his team on the advancement of our self-delivering RNAi immuno-oncology therapeutics towards clinical application in areas of Karolinska’s ongoing clinical research."
Rolf Kiessling, MD, PhD, Senior Professor in Experimental Oncology at the Karolinska Institutet, Senior Chief Physician at the Oncology clinic at the Karolinska University Hospital and member of Phio Pharmaceuticals’ Scientific Advisory Board stated, "Our results to date show that we can use self-delivering RNAi to modulate targets outside of checkpoints to improve efficacy of immune effector cells such as T cells and NK cells. The flexibility and ease of use of the platform means that we can also integrate this technology with other types of cells used in immuno-oncology therapy, including those that are currently being used in ongoing Karolinska clinical practice and clinical research."