On October 20, 2026 BostonGene, developer of the leading AI model for tumor and immune biology, reported a new research collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The collaboration will leverage BostonGene’s biologically grounded AI platform to model longitudinal immune system dynamics and identify the biological mechanisms associated with treatment response, resistance, toxicity, and durability in patients receiving an innovative CAR-T cell therapy.
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The ongoing phase Ib clinical trial (NCT05702853) is evaluating a novel metabolically programmed and purified CAR-T cell therapy designed to optimize T-cell fitness, persistence, and safety in patients with relapsed or refractory CD19 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. To evaluate the therapy’s impact, BostonGene is performing comprehensive immune system profiling on longitudinal blood samples using high-throughput multi-color flow cytometry and bulk RNA sequencing. By integrating these multiomics layers into biologically grounded AI models, researchers can map real-time immune dynamics and identify predictive biomarkers of CAR-T efficacy, persistence, treatment response, and adverse events. These analyses will help connect molecular and cellular changes with critical clinical outcomes while providing deeper insight into the biological mechanisms driving long-term remission and resistance.
Presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2026, preliminary data demonstrated a 67% complete remission rate alongside a favorable safety profile, characterized by a complete absence of immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome and no grade 3+ cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and minimal intervention required for low-grade CRS (only two patients received a single low dose of corticosteroids). Correlative analyses further revealed that treatment response was associated with CD8 effector memory cells, whereas progressive disease was linked to baseline T-cell exhaustion, highlighting the power of advanced computational modeling to uncover mechanisms of response and resistance.
"Improving CAR-T cell fitness and purifying the cellular product represent critical steps toward making these life-saving therapies safer and more durable," said Brian Hess, MD, Principal Investigator at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center. "Collaborating with BostonGene gives us unprecedented, high-resolution clarity into the systemic immune shifts occurring in our patients, helping us validate our metabolic programming approach and identify why certain patients achieve long-term remission."
"Understanding the intricate dynamics of the immune system during CAR-T therapy is paramount to overcoming therapeutic resistance and predicting adverse events," said Nathan Fowler, MD, Chief Medical Officer at BostonGene. "By applying our biologically grounded AI and multimodal immune system modeling capabilities to this innovative cellular therapy, we aim to identify predictive biomarkers and biological mechanisms that can improve patient selection, anticipate toxicity, and ultimately improve outcomes for patients battling aggressive blood cancers."
(Press release, BostonGene, OCT 20, 2026, View Source [SID1234673623])