On February 11, 2021 Repertoire Immune Medicines, a clinical-stage biotech company creating a new category of immune therapies for cancer, autoimmunity and infectious disease, reported a research collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to advance discovery and clinical development in human papillomavirus-positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal (head and neck) cancers (Press release, Repertoire, FEB 11, 2021, View Source [SID1234574951]). Through this collaboration, Dana-Farber and Repertoire aim to identify novel tumor antigen targets relevant to HPV+ head and neck tumors that will be used to inform the development of novel therapeutic candidates.

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As part of the collaboration, Dana-Farber will provide blood and tissue samples from patients with newly diagnosed, or with late-stage, recurrent HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer. Repertoire will use its DECODE platform to identify novel antigens and evaluate tumor antigen expression as well as profile the tumor microenvironment. The results of this research collaboration will inform Repertoire’s selection of tumor antigens for T cell therapy investigation that have the potential to be integrated into clinical trials.

Dana-Farber’s engagement is led by Glenn Hanna, M.D., Director, Center for Salivary and Rare Head and Neck Cancers, Dana-Farber; Ravindra Uppaluri, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber; and Ann Marie Egloff, Ph.D., Lead Investigator in the Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a Dana-Farber affiliate investigator.

"While many with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer are cured, there remains an urgent need for new treatments among those with recurrent or incurable disease. We are hopeful that the application of Repertoire’s cutting-edge antigen decoding technology will enable the design of more effective medicines that utilize the immune system to combat cancer," said Hanna.

"We are delighted to be collaborating with the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as we work together to obtain novel insights into antigen expressions for patients with HPV-positive cancers," said Anthony Coyle, Ph.D., President, Research and Development, Repertoire. "We believe this collaboration has the potential to yield breakthrough science through our complementary capabilities to discover novel immune medicines."

This research engagement is the second collaboration between Dana-Farber and Repertoire. Dana-Farber is currently a site for an ongoing Phase I clinical trial of Repertoire’s PRIME IL-15, a novel, autologous, non-genetically modified multiclonal T cell product designed to release IL-15 in a local and sustained manner, limiting systemic exposure and thus improving tolerability. Sarah Nikiforow, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber, is principal investigator on this study. More information is available on www.ClinicalTrials.gov, Study Identifier Number NCT03815682.