On May 2, 2019 Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in T-cell therapy to treat cancer, reported that it will present new and compelling data during an oral presentation about its off-the-shelf SPEAR T-cell program at the annual American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) meeting (Press release, Adaptimmune, MAY 2, 2019, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2396799 [SID1234535607]). Data indicate that T-cells can be generated from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC) in vitro and that these T-cells respond to cancer targets via engineered SPEAR TCRs. This process will be used to investigate the ability of this off-the-shelf SPEAR T-cell product to fight cancer.
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"Our three autologous SPEAR T-cell therapies are already in the clinic and have the potential to treat cancer in multiple solid tumor indications," said Rafael Amado, Adaptimmune’s President of R&D. "Beyond the promise of our current autologous therapies, this allogeneic approach – or more simply ‘off-the-shelf’ product – could offer treatment to more patients more quickly, and provide a homogeneous and unlimited source of therapeutic cells. We are thrilled with the progress we have made, both in the gene editing space with our partners at Universal Cells and with our internal T-cell differentiation program."
During an oral presentation scheduled for 11:30 AM ET today at the ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, Dr. Jo Brewer, Adaptimmune’s Vice President of Allogeneic Research, will present progress to-date with Adaptimmune’s off‑the-shelf SPEAR T-cell program:
Adaptimmune has demonstrated hiPSC differentiation in a serum-free process without the addition of mouse stromal cells, which is designed to enable scale-up and GMP manufacture of a gene-edited off-the-shelf SPEAR T-cell product
Lentiviral transduction of T-cells derived from hiPSCs with a SPEAR TCR produces differentiated T-cells that can respond to cancer targets in vitro
The process starts with an hiPSC line, before the cells are rendered invisible to the host immune system with a series of Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus (rAAV)-based gene-editing steps (the editing will be performed in association with Universal Cells, an Astellas Company)
The process has been shown to promote differentiation of cells from a pluripotent state (SSEA4+Oct4+TRA-160+) through various intermediate stages: CD34+CD45+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC), pro-/pre-T CD7+CD5+cells, and CD4+CD8+ double positive cells towards CD3+CD8+TCR+ single positive T-cells