The Science
Overcoming barriers, the next step in effective engineered cell therapies in solid tumor therapy
Current cellular immunotherapies fail as the T-cells by binding to and killing tumor cells that overexpress tumor-associated antigens. The challenge is that T-cells get disabled while circulating in the body or when they enter the tumor ‘microenvironment’ due to the disabling factors that are produced by tumor cells. These disabling factors include a protein called the TGFβ.
We invented a conversion system – the CTSR mechanism – that incorporates a trap for TGFβ and blocks its effect. However, our system goes one step further, when it detects TGFβ, it recognizes that the T-cell is in the vicinity of the tumor cells, and the CTSR mechanism provides more energy to the T-cell to live in that hostile environment and improve killing of cancer cells.
Exploiting the system that helps protect tumor cells provides an opportunity to improve cellular therapies for any T-cells directed against any tumor-associated antigen.
Reversing the effects of a suppressive tumor microenvironment greatly improves the effects of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) cell therapies against solid tumors
The CTSR platform utilizes a novel receptor to redirect tumor cells
disabling mechanism into one that energize T-cells.
We invented a way – the CTSR platform – to shield CAR T cells against the immunosuppressive effects of tumor environment while at the same time bolstering their activity against the tumor.
Our approach incorporates a chimeric TGFβ receptor that when bound to TGFB activates Toll- Like Receptor (TLR) pathway, activating phosphor- IRAK4. The induced TLR aids in survival and proliferation of CAR T-cells, while the CAR protein eliminates the tumor cells.
The CTSR platform is robustly different from other cell therapy systems.
Our CTSR platform is a completely independent genetic module, fully compatible with all current and future CAR technologies. It can be integrated seamlessly to any manufacturing process to produce tumor specific CARs which are resistant to the tumor microenvironment.
