Healthcare analytics, AI solutions for biological big data, providing an AI platform for the biotech, life sciences, medical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as for related technological approaches, i.e., curation and text analysis with machine learning and other activities related to AI applications to these industries.
Decades of pioneering research led to a first-of-its-kind FDA approval for a new type of immunotherapy—tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.
Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been thought for years to be a key immune regulator of the growth of tumor cells and these specialized T-cells have been found in many tumor microenvironments, especially in solid malignancies. It was felt, if one could purify these immune cells and genetically alter them to induce a killer T-cell response, these modified TILs would be a great therapeutic. However it has been a challenge to purify, modify, and induce these cells to be able to infiltrate the tumor microenvironment. These issues restricted their therapeutic utility towards solid tumors and posed this challenge for decades. However, just recently the FDA has approved a TIL therapy for metastatic melanoma, especially for those melanomas that failed PD-L1 immunotherapies or B-Raf inhibitors (if expressing the corresponding B-Raf mutation.
Jennifer Ficko has been cancer-free for more than seven years, thanks to a clinical trial and an innovative form of immunotherapy. Diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2010, she enrolled in several clinical trials to little avail—the tumor either didn’t respond, or the treatment led to debilitating side effects. That was until 2017, when Jennifer enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating lifileucel, a novel type of immunotherapy called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. The treatment left her weak for months afterward—but it worked. Her tumors disappeared, and she has not had any recurrences since. The success of lifileucel for Jennifer and many other patients enrolled in the clinical trial led to its approval in 2024 (under the brand name Amtagvi), making it the first treatment of its kind to be greenlit by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Today I’m doing fabulously, and I am just thankful that I was given this opportunity,” said Jennifer, who was featured in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024.
The premise of TIL therapy was pioneered by Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a Fellow of the AACR Academy, who long hypothesized that the patient’s immune system could be a powerful ally in the fight against cancer. “The accumulation of associative evidence led me to spend my entire career trying to find immunotherapies for the treatment of patients with cancer,” he said.Dr. Rosenberg remained committed to developing effective TIL therapy for more than three decades, leading the field in developing, testing, and enhancing this novel form of cancer treatment—research that was made possible by federal investments in the NCI.
What is TIL Therapy?
Lifileucel and other TIL therapies under investigation work through the same basic principle: collect the patient’s tumor tissue through biopsy or surgery, isolate from the tissue the T cells that have infiltrated the tumor (called TILs), promote proliferation of the isolated TILs to increase their number, and deliver the expanded TILs back into the patient along with an infusion of the protein IL-2 to stimulate TIL proliferation and activation within the patient’s body.
The 30-year Journey From Discovery to FDA Approval
The story of TIL therapy can be traced back to 1986, when Dr. Rosenberg and colleagues reported the discovery of TILs in human tumors and a method to expand them in the lab. When the human TILs were expanded and injected into mice, they led to regression of metastatic tumors in the liver and lungs. During the 1980s and ’90s, Dr. Rosenberg spearheaded clinical trials at the NCI testing TILs in patients. The trials illustrated the promise of TILs for cancer therapy, but they also revealed the shortcomings of this approach—namely the short-lived nature of treatment responses. Dr. Rosenberg and others continued to explore ways to overcome the challenges facing TIL therapy. In the early 2000s, they found that using chemotherapy to deplete the patient’s own immune cells prior to TIL infusion (called lymphodepleting conditioning) increased response rates and made responses more durable. Over the following decade, it became increasingly clear that TILs could be effective for patients whose melanomas did not respond to established treatments, and, in late 2023, researchers reported that almost 50% of patients who were treated with lifileucel after prior therapy were alive four years later—data that led to the historic FDA approval of lifileucel in January 2024.
The Importance of Cancer Research
“We have had a lot of progress in [treating] melanoma in the last 20 years,” said Harriet Kluger, MD, Jennifer’s oncologist and a professor of medicine at Yale University who was involved in the clinical testing of lifileucel. “We are able to control metastatic melanoma, and possibly even cure, in at least half of our patients now, but half isn’t enough. “That’s why these new therapies are important. Particularly, lifileucel is approved for patients in whom the other approved drugs don’t work,” she added. “Any time we can get results in that setting, we are getting closer and closer to our overall goal, which is curing 100% of our patients 100% of the time.”
Advances like these rely on investments to fund the basic, translational, and clinical research that pave the way for life-saving therapeutics for patients. “Cancer research is expensive, scientific research is expensive. And the more people we have that are smart, that have been educated appropriately, that are creative and innovative, the more of those people we can bring into research against deadly diseases such as cancer, the more rapidly progress will be made,” said Dr. Rosenberg.“The resources to do that, provided by the government as well as private institutions, I think [are] going to play a very important role. It has played an important role and will continue to play an important role.”
Other Articles of Note on Cancer Immunotherapy and Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes on this Open Access Online Scientific Journal Include:
Live Notes from JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Virtual Endpoints Preview: January 8-9 2024
Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.
Endpoints at #JPM24 | Primed to unlock biopharma’s next dealmaking wave
Endpoints at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
January 8-9 | San Francisco, CA80 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
An oasis has emerged in the biopharma money desert as backers look to replenish capital — still, uncertainty remains on whether it’s a mirage or the much needed dealmaking bump the industry needs. Yet spirits run high as JPM24 marks the triumphant return of inking strategic alliances and peering into the industry crystal ball — while keeping an eye out for some major M&A.
We’re back live from San Francisco for JPM Monday and Tuesday — our calendar of can’t-miss panels and fireside chats will feature prominent biopharma leaders to watch. The Endpoints Hub provides the ultimate coworking space with everything you need — 1:1 and group meeting spots plus guest pass capabilities and more. Join us in-person at the Endpoints Hub or watch online to stay plugged into all the action.
8 JAN
Welcome remarks
8:05 AM – 8:25 AM PST
Pfizer vet Mikael Dolsten has some thoughts on Big Pharma R&D
Endpoints News founding editor John Carroll will sit down with longtime Pfizer CSO Mikael Dolsten to talk about Pfizer’s pipeline, what he’s learned on the job about preclinical research and development and what’s ahead for the pharma giant in drug development and deals.
Mikael Dolsten
Chief Scientific Officer, President, Pfizer Research & Development
Pfizer
Pfizer Mikael Dolsten: Pfizer produced a series of AI generated molecules with new properties. Sees rapid adoption of AI in the area of drug discovery and molecular design.
8:25 AM – 9:05 AM PST
What pharma wants: The industry’s dealmakers look ahead at 2024
The drug industry’s appetite for new assets hasn’t slowed down. Top business development execs will give their outlook on the year, what they’re looking for and how they see the market.
Glenn Hunzinger
Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences Consulting Solutions Leader
PwC US
Rachna Khosla
SVP, Head of Business Development
Amgen
James Sabry
Global Head of Pharma Partnering
Roche
Devang Bhuva
SVP, Corporate Development
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Endpoints News
Dealmaking panel
Glenn Hunzinger: if you do not have a GLP1 will have a tough time getting a good market price for your company; capital markets are not where they want to be; sees a tough deal making climate like last year. The problem with many biotech companies are they are coming earlier to the venture capital because of greater funding needs and so it is imperative that they articulate the potential of their company in scientific detail
Rachna Khosla: Make sure your investors are not just CAPITAL PARTNERS but use their expertise and involve them in development issues you may have, especially ones that a young firm will face. The problem is most investments assume what the future looks like (for example how antibody drug conjugates, once a field left for dead, has been rejuvenated because of advances in chemistry).
James Sabry: noted that cardiac and metabolic drugs are now at the focus of many investors, especially with the new anti-obesity drugs on market
Devang Bhuva: Most deals we see start as collaborations or partnerships. You want to involve an alliance management team early in the deal making process. This process could take years.
9:05 AM – 9:20 AM PST
The IPO: How Apogee Therapeutics went public in the most challenging market in years
Not many biotechs went public in 2023. And of those that did, not many have had a great time of it. Apogee is the exception and our panel will offer a behind-the-scenes look at their decision to enter the market and what life is like as a young public company.
Michael Henderson
CEO
Apogee Therapeutics
Kyle LaHucik
MODERATOR
Senior Reporter
Endpoints News
Michael Henderson: Not many biotech IPOs deals happened in 2023. Michael feels it is because too many biotechs focused on building platforms, which was a hard sell in 2023. He felt not many biotechs had clear milestones and investors wanted a clear primary validated target. He said many biotech startups are in a funding crunch and most need at least $440M on their balance sheet to get to 2026.
9:50 AM – 10:10 AM PST
Top predictions for biotech in 2024
Catalent CEO Alessandro Maselli will be back at the big JPM healthcare confab to talk with Endpoints News founder John Carroll about their top predictions of what’s coming up for the biotech industry in 2024. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the industry grapples with headwinds and new opportunities in a gale of market forces. Two top observers share their thoughts on the year ahead.
Alessandro Maselli
President & CEO
Catalent
10:15 AM – 10:35 AM PST
Innovation at a crossroads: Keys to unlocking the value of science and technology
The industry has long discussed the promise of technology and the acceleration it provides in scientific advancement and across the industry value chain. However, the promise of its impact has yet to fully be realized. This discussion will outline the keys to unleashing this promise and the implications and actions to be taken by the biopharmaceutical companies across the industry.
Ray Pressburger
North America Life Sciences Industry Lead & Global Life Sciences Strategy Lead
Accenture
SPONSORED BY
10:35 AM – 11:05 AM PST
Activism and Investing: In conversation with Elliott Investment Management’s Marc Steinberg
Elliott has been behind many of 2023’s highest-profile healthcare investments, including multiple activist engagements and taking Syneos Health private. What has made large healthcare companies such interesting investment opportunities for firms like Elliott? What’s Elliott’s investing strategy in healthcare? And what should companies expect when an activist calls?
Marc Steinberg
Senior Portfolio Manager
Elliott Investment Management
Andrew Dunn
MODERATOR
Biopharma Correspondent
Endpoints News
11:05 AM – 11:35 AM PST
Creating ROI from AI
AI is predicted to transform the way drugs are made, from discovery to clinical trials to market. But beyond the initial hype and early adoption, where has AI made meaningful contributions to R&D? How does it help drug developers advance science? Endpoints publisher Arsalan Arif is convening a panel of leading experts to discuss the state of AI in the pharmaceutical landscape and the outlook for 2024. How does AI impact the drug pipeline, from the early steps of discovery to reducing trial failure rate?
Thomas Clozel
Co-Founder & CEO
Owkin
Venkat Sethuraman
SVP, Global Biometrics & Data Sciences
Bristol Myers Squibb
Frank O. Nestle
Global Head of Research & Chief Scientific Officer
Sanofi
Matthias Evers
Chief Business Officer
Evotec
Arsalan Arif
MODERATOR
Founder & Publisher
Endpoints News
SPONSORED BY
11:35 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Biopharma’s dealmaker: Behind the scenes with Centerview Partners co-president Eric Tokat
Almost every major biopharma deal in 2023 had Centerview’s name attached to it. And much of the time, Eric Tokat was the banker making those deals happen. Hear his outlook for 2024, how transactions are getting done and what’s placed his firm at the center of so much action.
E. Eric Tokat
Co-President, Investment Banking
Centerview Partners
CenterView Partners Eric Tokat feels dealmaking will improve in 2024, given the recent flurry of dealmaking at end of last year and right before main JPM Healthcare Conference. He says Centerview wants to help the biotechs they invest in on their strategic path. This may translate into buyers more actively involved (more than startups want) and buyers now are in the drivers seat as far as the timeline of deals and development.
Is the megamerger dead for this year? He says it is very hard to see two major mergers happening but there will be many smaller and mid size biotech deals happening, but these deals will be more speculative in nature.. The focus for large pharma is top line growth. Most of the buyers have an infrastructure and value is more of buying and dropping it in their business so there is now a huge emphasis on due diligence on whether synergies exist or not
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM PST
Founder, legend, leader: In conversation with Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi
Carolyn Bertozzi’s discoveries around bioorthogonal chemistry won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022 and are at the heart of new therapies being tested in patients. Join us as we discuss what inspires her and where she sees the next big advances.
Carolyn Bertozzi
Prof. of Chemistry, Stanford University and Baker Family Director of Sarafan ChEM-H
Stanford University
Nicole DeFeudis
MODERATOR
Editor
Endpoints News
Bioorthogonal chemistry: class of high yielding chemical reactions that proceed rapidly and selectively in biological environments without side reactions toward endogenous functions. This is also a type of ‘click chemistry’ in biological system where only specifically alter the biomolecule of interest.
Orthogonal: two chemicals not interacting with each other
Dr. Bertozzi noted she has started a new Antibody-Drug-Conjugate (ADC) company which involves designing with biorthogonal chemistry to make new functional molecules with varying properties
She noted hardly any biologists knew anything about glycobiology when she first started. However now she feels pharma and academia are working very well with each other
Bioorthogonal and Click Chemistry Curated by Prof. Carolyn R. Bertozzi, 2022 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded jointly to ACS Central Science Editor-in-Chief, Carolyn R. Bertozzi of Stanford University, Morten Meldal of the University of Copenhagen, and K. Barry Sharpless of Scripps Research, for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.
To celebrate this remarkable achievement, 2022 Nobel Prize winner Professor Carolyn R. Bertozzi has curated this Bioorthogonal and Click Chemistry Virtual Issue, highlighting papers published across ACS journals that have built upon the foundational work in this exciting area of chemistry.
Bioorthogonal reactions are chemical reactions that neither interact with nor interfere with a biological system. The participating functional groups must be inert to biological moieties, must selectively reactive with each other under biocompatible conditions, and, for in vivo applications, must be nontoxic to cells and organisms. Additionally, it is helpful if one reactive group is small and therefore minimally perturbing of a biomolecule into which it has been introduced either chemically or biosynthetically. Examples from the past decade suggest that a promising strategy for bioorthogonal reaction development begins with an analysis of functional group and reactivity space outside those defined by nature. Issues such as stability of reactants and products (particularly in water), kinetics, and unwanted side reactivity with biofunctionalities must be addressed, ideally guided by detailed mechanistic studies. Finally, the reaction must be tested in a variety of environments, escalating from aqueous media to biomolecule solutions to cultured cells and, for the most optimized transformations, to live organisms.
9 JAN
9:40 AM – 10:10 AM PST
Biotech downturn survival school
Our panelists have seen the worst, and made it through to the other side. Join us for downturn survival school as our panelists talk about what sets apart the ones who make it through tough times.
These panalists think it will be specialist capital year to shine while the general capital is still sitting on the sidelines
JJ Kang
CEO
Appia Bio
“2023 was a tough year while 2020 was a boon year to start a company. We will continue to see these cycles; many of these new CEOs have never seen a biotech downturn yet and may not know how to preserve capital for the downturn”.
“Doing a partnership with Kite Pharmaceuticals early in our startp allowed us to get work done without risking a lot of capital, even if it means equity and asset dilution. That makes sense. However even if you are small insist on being an equal partner.”
“There are many investors we talk to who do not want to invest in cell therapy. Too risky now”
Carl Gordon
Managing Partner
OrbiMed Advisors
There are many macroeconomic factors affecting investment and capital today which will carry on through 2024. Not raising money when you do not need money is a bad philosophy. Always bbe raising captial. This is especially true when you have to rely on hedge funds. Parnerships howeve are sometimes the only way for small biotechs to leverage their strengths.
Joshua Boger
Executive Chair
Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Boger: Expect volatility for 2024. This environment feels very different than past downturns.
Even in downturns there is still lots of capital; remember access to human capital is better in a downturn and is easier to access; however it has become harder to get drug approvals
The panelists agree that access to capital and funding will be as tricky in 2024 than 2023. They did
suggest that a new funding avenue, private credit, may be a source of capital. This is discussed below:
When thinking about a private alternative investment asset class, the first thing that springs to mind is private equity. But there’s one more asset class with the word private in its name that has recently gained much attention. We’re talking about private credit.
Indeed, this once little-known investment strategy is now growing rapidly in popularity, offering private investors worldwide an exciting opportunity to diversify their portfolio with, in theory, less risky investments that yield significant returns.
Private credit investments refer to investors lending money to companies who then repay the loan at a given interest rate within the predetermined period.
The private credit market has grown significantly over the past years, rising from $875 million in 2020 to $1.4 trillion at the beginning of 2023.
Please WATCH VIDEO BY GOLDMAN SACHS ON PRIVATE CREDIT
The New Molecule: How breakthrough technologies are actually changing pharma R&D
Join us for a look at how AI, machine learning and generative technologies are actually being applied inside drugmakers’ labs. We’ll explore how new technologies are being used, their implications, how they intersect with regulatory and IP issues and how this fast-changing field is likely to evolve.
Kailash Swarna
Managing Director & Global Life Sciences Clinical Development Lead
Accenture
Artificial Intelligence is making impact in a grand way on biology in three aspects:
Speeding up target validation: now we can get through 300 molecules a day
Predicition like AlphaFold is doing; molecular simulations
Document submission especially with regulatory and IND submissions
Pamela Carroll
COO
Isomorphic Labs formerly of AlphaFold
We were first with Novartis at last year JPM and was one year old but parnering with them in that initial year was very important for sealing the deal.
They are looking now at neurologic diseases like ALS. She wondered whether ALS is actually multiple diseases and we need to stratify patients like we do in oncology trials. Their main competion is the whole tech world like Amazon, Google and other Machine Learning companies so being a tech player in the biotech world means you are not just competing with other biotechs but large tech companies as well.
Jorge Conde
General Partner
Andreessen Horowitz
Need is still great for drug discovery; early adopters show AI tools can be used in big pharma. There are lots of applications of AI in managing care; a lot of back office applications including patient triaging. He does not see big AI mergers with pharma companies – this will be mainly partnerships not M&A deals
Alicyn Campbell
Chief Scientific Officer
Evinova, a Healthtech Subsidiary of the AstraZeneca Group
There is a need to turn AI for real world example. For example AI tools were used in clinical trials to determine patient cohorts with pneumonitis. At Evinova they are determining how AI can hel[p show clinical benefit with respect to efficacy and safety
Joshua Boger at #JPM24 (Brian Benton Photography)
January 12, 2024 09:06 AM ESTUpdated 10:00 AM PeopleStartups
Vertex founder Joshua Boger on surviving downturns, ‘painful’ partnerships, and the importance of culture: #JPM24
While the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference was full of voices of measured optimism, rooting for the market to bounce back in 2024, one longtime biotech leader warned against setting any firm expectations.
Instead of predicting when the downturn may end, Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder Joshua Boger said he advises biotech leaders to expect — and plan for — volatility. Speaking Tuesday on an Endpoints News panel alongside OrbiMed’s Carl Gordon and Appia Bio CEO JJ Kang, Boger shared lessons learned on surviving downturns, striking pharma deals, and the importance of keeping a company’s culture based on his two decades of founding and leading Vertex as CEO from 1989 to 2009. The 72-year-old is now serving as executive chairman of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, a startup developing a rare disease drug.
“I never experienced a straight line up,” Boger said. “Everything had its cycles, and it was how you respond to the cycle, not by predicting when the end is going to be, but just by responding to the present situation.”
At Boger’s first appearance at the JP Morgan conference in 1991, he said the conference’s theme was the end of biotech financing. Just a few months later, Regeneron successfully went public, rapidly changing the outlook for the whole field.
“We had no idea we were ever going to take public money,” he said. “When Regeneron did their IPO, we went, ‘Whoa, there’s something happening here,’ and we pivoted quickly.”
Vertex went public later that year. Throughout his 20-year tenure, Boger said no pharma company ever made an acquisition offer for Vertex, which now commands a market value of $110 billion and recently won the first FDA approval for a CRISPR gene editing therapy.
“We had an uber corporate policy to always make ourselves more expensive than anyone would stomach,” Boger said.
However, Vertex did strike a range of partnerships with Big Pharmas, which Boger described as a painful but necessary part of running a biotech startup.
“It’s impossible for a partnership not to slow you down,” he said. “You can and should try as hard as you can not to do that, but just count on it. They’ll slow you down.”
Boger said startups should insist on being equal partners in pharma deals, at least making sure they have a seat at a partner’s development meetings.
“Realize they’re going to be painful, it’s going to be horrible, and you need to do it,” Boger said.
While Vertex suffered through layoffs, stock price plunges, and trial failures, Boger credited a focus on culture as key to its long-term success.
“It’s the most important ingredient for a successful company,” he said. “Technology is acquirable. Culture is not acquirable. There are 10 companies that will fail because of culture for every one that succeeds, and the successful companies in retrospect will almost always have special cultural aspects that kept them through those downtimes.”
JPM24 opens with ADCs the hottest ticket in San Francisco
The overall deal flow in biopharma tapered off in 2023 but the big companies sure know what they want (what they really, really want), according to a new report from J.P. Morgan.
And that’s antibody-drug conjugates, which drove a fourth-quarter spike in licensing deal proceeds and provided a glimmer of hope to an industry battered by outside forces and grim financing prospects.
J.P. Morgan’s annual 2023 Biopharma Licensing and Venture Report arrived on the eve of the firm’s famous conference, which is set to welcome thousands of attendees in San Francisco today—East Coast weather permitting.
2023 was tough, but clinical biotechs still had a lot of opportunities to wheel and deal, according to J.P. Morgan. While licensing deals, venture investments, M&A and IPOs were down overall in the fourth quarter, deal values stayed fairly high thanks to a flurry of late-stage tie ups.
Follow the Fierce team’s coverage of the 2024 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference here.
Biopharma licensing partnerships accounted for $63 billion in total value during the fourth quarter from 108 deals. Just one deal—Merck’s ADC partnership with Daiichi Sankyo—accounted for $22 billion of that. Another huge one was another ADC bet, with Bristol Myers Squibb signing on to work with SystImmune for a total value of $8.4 billion. If you exclude the Merck deal, the total value of these partnerships is still higher than the previous quarter, which ended with $32.1 billion.
The total number of licensing deals compares to 149 in the same quarter a year earlier, 195 for Q4 2021 and 223 for Q4 2022.
As for venture investments, the year closed out with $17 billion total across 250 rounds, thanks to $3.5 billion earned through 79 rounds in the last quarter. Aiolos Bio snagged the title of largest venture round of the quarter with $245 million, which also proved to be the largest series A, too.
There was just one IPO in all of the fourth quarter—Cargo Therapeutics making the plunge for $300 million—and 13 overall for the year. It’s a far cry from the heyday of 2021 and experts are still unsure what 2024 will hold. J.P. Morgan reported $2.5 billion raised from 12 completed biopharma IPOs for the year on Nasdaq and NYSE. Nine out of the 12 companies had clinical programs when they took the leap to the public markets. As of December 13, five of the companies were trading above their IPO price.
As for M&A, December saw a rush of Big Pharmas snapping up companies around Christmas. J.P. Morgan tallied the fourth quarter at $37.6 billion and $128.8 billion across 112 total acquisitions for all of 2023.
AbbVie was the top buyer of the quarter with the two largest acquisitions thanks to the $10 billion outlay for ImmunoGen and $8.7 billion buy of Cerevel Therapeutics.
All of this adds up to 270 total deals in the fourth quarter total, which is lower than the third quarter which exceeded 300.
J.P. Morgan sees some big potential for smaller biopharmas looking for licensing partners, as Big Pharmas have been handing out larger upfront payments for the deals they really want.
Cancer was once again the most in-demand therapeutic areas, reaching a new height of $86.1 billion in 2023. Followed by $21.1 billion for neurological disorders.
For More Articles on Real Time Conference Coverage in this Open Access Scientific Journal see:
Named for ACGT co-founder, Edward Netter, the award recognizes a researcher who has made unparalleled and groundbreaking contributions to the field of cell and gene therapy for cancer. Dr. Mackall is a leader in advancing cell and gene therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, with a major focus on children’s cancers.
In addition to being an ACGT research fellow and a member of ACGT’s Scientific Advisory Council, Dr. Mackall is the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University, the founding director of the Stanford Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, associate director of the Stanford Cancer Institute, leader of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program and director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. She has led numerous groundbreaking clinical trials to treat children with sarcomas and brain cancers.
“There is exciting progress happening in the field of cancer cell and gene therapy,” said Kevin Honeycutt, CEO and president of ACGT. “We continue to see the FDA approve cell and gene therapy treatments for blood cancers, while research for solid tumors is now progressing to clinical trials. These successes are linked to the funding of ACGT, and Dr. Crystal Mackall is one of the best examples of a researcher who refused to accept the status-quo of standard cancer treatment and committed to developing novel cell and gene therapies for children with difficult-to-treat tumors. ACGT is proud that Dr. Mackall is an ACGT Research Fellow, a member of ACGT’s Scientific Advisory Council, and the newest recipient of the Edward Netter Leadership Award.”
The ACGT Awards Luncheon will celebrate the non-profit organization’s 20th anniversary and usher in a new decade as the only nonprofit dedicated exclusively to funding cancer cell and gene therapy research. ACGT funds innovative scientists and biotechnology companies working to harness the power of cell and gene therapy to transform how cancer is treated and to drive momentum toward a cure.
The Edward Netter Leadership Award will be presented to Dr. Mackall by Carl June, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, who received the honor at ACGT’s 2019 Awards Gala. ACGT grant funding enabled Dr. June to research and develop cell and gene therapies that led to the first FDA approvals of CAR T-cell therapies for cancer.
For more than 20 years, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy has funded research that is bringing innovative treatment options to people living with deadly cancers – treatments that save lives and offer new hope to all cancer patients. Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy funds researchers who are pioneering the potential of cancer cell and gene therapy – talented visionaries whose scientific advancements are driving the development of groundbreaking treatments for ovarian, prostate, sarcoma, glioblastoma, melanoma and pancreatic cancers. One hundred percent of all public funds raised by Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy directly support research and programs. For more information, visit acgtfoundation.org, call (203) 358-5055, or join the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy community on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube @acgtfoundation.
# # #
Other Related Articles in this Open Access Scientific Journal Include
Yet another Success Story: Machine Learning to predict immunotherapy response
Curator and Reporter: Dr. Premalata Pati, Ph.D., Postdoc
Immune-checkpoint blockers(ICBs) immunotherapy appears promising for various cancer types, offering a durable therapeutic advantage. Only a number of cases with cancer respond to this therapy. Biomarkers are required to adequately predict the responses of patients. This article evaluates this issue utilizing a system method to characterize the immune response of the anti-tumor based on the entire tumor environment. Researchers build mechanical biomarkers and cancer-specific response models using interpretable machine learning that predict the response of patients to ICB.
The lymphatic and immunological systems help the body defend itself by combating. The immune system functions as the body’s own personal police force, hunting down and eliminating pathogenic baddies.
According to Federica Eduati, Department of Biomedical Engineering at TU/e, “The immune system of the body is quite adept at detecting abnormally behaving cells. Cells that potentially grow into tumors or cancer in the future are included in this category. Once identified, the immune system attacks and destroys the cells.”
Immunotherapy and machine learning are combining to assist the immune system solve one of its most vexing problems: detecting hidden tumorous cells in the human body.
It is the fundamental responsibility of our immune system to identify and remove alien invaders like bacteria or viruses, but also to identify risks within the body, such as cancer. However, cancer cells have sophisticated ways of escaping death by shutting off immune cells. Immunotherapy can reverse the process, but not for all patients and types of cancer. To unravel the mystery, Eindhoven University of Technology researchers used machine learning. They developed a model to predict whether immunotherapy will be effective for a patient using a simple trick. Even better, the model outperforms conventional clinical approaches.
“Tumor also contains multiple types of immune and fibroblast cells which can play a role in favor of or anti-tumor, and communicates among themselves,” said Oscar Lapuente-Santana, a researcher doctoral student in the computational biology group. “We had to learn how complicated regulatory mechanisms in the micro-environment of the tumor affect the ICB response. We have used RNA sequencing datasets to depict numerous components of the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) in a high-level illustration.”
Using computational algorithms and datasets from previous clinical patient care, the researchers investigated the TME.
Eduati explained
While RNA-sequencing databases are publically available, information on which patients responded to ICB therapy is only available for a limited group of patients and cancer types. So, to tackle the data problem, we used a trick.
All 100 models learned in the randomized cross-validation were included in the EaSIeR tool. For each validation dataset, we used the corresponding cancer-type-specific model: SKCM for the melanoma Gide, Auslander, Riaz, and Liu cohorts; STAD for the gastric cancer Kim cohort; BLCA for the bladder cancer Mariathasan cohort; and GBM for the glioblastoma Cloughesy cohort. To make predictions for each job, the average of the 100 cancer-type-specific models was employed. The predictions of each dataset’s cancer-type-specific models were also compared to models generated for the remaining 17 cancer types.
From the same datasets, the researchers selected several surrogate immunological responses to be used as a measure of ICB effectiveness.
Lapuente-Santana stated
One of the most difficult aspects of our job was properly training the machine learning models. We were able to fix this by looking at alternative immune responses during the training process.
DREAM is an organization that carries out crowd-based tasks with biomedical algorithms. “We were the first to compete in one of the sub-challenges under the name cSysImmunoOnco team,” Eduati remarks.
The researchers noted,
We applied machine learning to seek for connections between the obtained system-based attributes and the immune response, estimated using 14 predictors (proxies) derived from previous publications. We treated these proxies as individual tasks to be predicted by our machine learning models, and we employed multi-task learning algorithms to jointly learn all tasks.
The researchers discovered that their machine learning model surpasses biomarkers that are already utilized in clinical settings to evaluate ICB therapies.
But why are Eduati, Lapuente-Santana, and their colleagues using mathematical models to tackle a medical treatment problem? Is this going to take the place of the doctor?
Eduati explains
Mathematical models can provide an overview of the interconnection between individual molecules and cells and at the same time predicting a particular patient’s tumor behavior. This implies that immunotherapy with ICB can be personalized in a patient’s clinical setting. The models can aid physicians with their decisions about optimum therapy, it is vital to note that they will not replace them.
Furthermore, the model aids in determining which biological mechanisms are relevant for the biological response.
The researchers noted
Another advantage of our concept is that it does not need a dataset with known patient responses to immunotherapy for model training.
Further testing is required before these findings may be implemented in clinical settings.
Main Source:
Lapuente-Santana, Ó., van Genderen, M., Hilbers, P. A., Finotello, F., & Eduati, F. (2021). Interpretable systems biomarkers predict response to immune-checkpoint inhibitors. Patterns, 100293. https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdfExtended/S2666-3899(21)00126-4
Other Related Articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:
Inhibitory CD161 receptor recognized as a potential immunotherapy target in glioma-infiltrating T cells by single-cell analysis
Deep Learning for In-silico Drug Discovery and Drug Repurposing: Artificial Intelligence to search for molecules boosting response rates in Cancer Immunotherapy: Insilico Medicine @John Hopkins University
June 22-24: Free Registration for AACR Members, the Cancer Community, and the Public
This virtual meeting will feature more than 120 sessions and 4,000 e-posters, including sessions on cancer health disparities and the impact of COVID-19 on clinical trials
This Virtual Meeting is Part II of the AACR Annual Meeting. Part I was held online in April and was centered only on clinical findings. This Part II of the virtual meeting will contain all the Sessions and Abstracts pertaining to basic and translational cancer research as well as clinical trial findings.
The Opening Ceremony will include the following presentations: Welcome from AACR CEO Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MARGARET FOTI, PHD, MD (HC)
American Association for Cancer Research
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. Foti mentions that AACR is making progress in including more ethnic and gender equality in cancer research and she feels that the disparities seen in health care, and in cancer care, is related to the disparities seen in the cancer research profession
AACR is very focused now on blood cancers and creating innovation summits on this matter
In 2019 awarded over 60 grants but feel they will be able to fund more research in 2020
Government funding is insufficient at current levels
Remarks from AACR Immediate Past President Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR
involved in planning and success of the first virtual meeting (it was really well done)
# of registrants was at unprecedented numbers
the scope for this meeting will be wider than the first meeting
they have included special sessions including COVID19 and health disparities
70 educational and methodology workshops on over 70 channels
AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
How should we think about exceptional and super responders to cancer therapy? What biologic insights might ensue from considering these cases? What are ways in which considering super responders may lead to misleading conclusions? What are the pros and cons of the quest to locate exceptional and super responders?
Alice P Chen, Vinay K Prasad, Celeste Leigh Pearce
Engineered Bacteria used as Trojan Horse for Cancer Immunotherapy
Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD
Researchers are using synthetic biology— design and construction of new biological entities such as enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells or the redesign of existing biological systems—is changing medicine leading to innovative solution in molecular-based therapeutics. To address the issue of designing therapies that can induce a potent, anti-tumor immune response researchers at Columbia Engineering and Columbia Irving Medical Center engineered a strain of non-pathogenic bacteria that can colonize tumors in mice. The non-pathogenic bacteria act as Trojan Horse that can lead to complete tumor regression in a mouse model of lymphoma. Their results are currently published in Nature Medicine.
The scientists led by Nicholas Arpaia, used their expertise in synthetic biology and immunology to engineer a strain of bacteria able to grow and multiply in the necrotic core of tumors. The non-pathogenic E. coli are programmed to self-destruct when the bacteria numbers reach a critical threshold, allowing for actual release of therapeutics and averting them from causing havoc somewhere else in the body. Afterward, a small portion of bacteria survive lysis and repopulate the population which allows repeated rounds of drug delivery inside treated tumors.
In the present study, the scientists release a nanobody that targets CD47 protein, which defends cancer cells from being eaten by distinctive immune cells. The mutual effects of bacteria, induced local inflammation within the tumor and the blockage of the CD47 leads to better ingestion and activation of T-cells within the treated tumors. The team deduced that the treatment with their engineered bacteria not only cleared the treated tumors but also reduced the incidence of tumor metastasis.
Before moving to clinical trials, the team is performing proof-of-concept tests, safety and toxicology studies of their immunotherapeutic bacteria in a rand of advanced solid tumor settings in mouse models. They have currently collaborated with Gary Schwartz, deputy director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer and have underway a company to translate their promising technology to patients.
Live Coverage: MedCity Converge 2018 Philadelphia: AI in Cancer and Keynote Address
Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD
3.3.4 Live Coverage: MedCity Converge 2018 Philadelphia: AI in Cancer and Keynote Address, Volume 2 (Volume Two: Latest in Genomics Methodologies for Therapeutics: Gene Editing, NGS and BioInformatics, Simulations and the Genome Ontology), Part 2: CRISPR for Gene Editing and DNA Repair
8:30 AM -9:15
Practical Applications of AI in Cancer
We are far from machine learning dictating clinical decision making, but AI has important niche applications in oncology. Hear from a panel of innovative startups and established life science players about how machine learning and AI can transform different aspects in healthcare, be it in patient recruitment, data analysis, drug discovery or care delivery.
Ayan: working at IBM and Thompon Rueters with structured datasets and having gone through his own cancer battle, he is now working in healthcare AI which has an unstructured dataset(s)
Carla: collecting medical images over the world, mainly tumor and calculating tumor volumetrics
Tufia: drug resistant breast cancer clinician but interested in AI and healthcareIT at Mayo
John: taking large scale datasets but a machine learning skeptic
moderator: how has imaging evolved?
Carla: ten times images but not ten times radiologists so stressed field needs help with image analysis; they have seen measuring lung tumor volumetrics as a therapeutic diagnostic has worked
moderator: how has AI affected patient recruitment?
Tufia: majority of patients are receiving great care but AI can offer profiles and determine which patients can benefit from tertiary care;
John: 1980 paper on no free lunch theorem; great enthusiasm about optimization algortihisms fell short in application; can extract great information from e.g. images
moderator: how is AI for healthcare delivery working at mayo?
Tufia: for every hour with patient two hours of data mining. for care delivery hope to use the systems to leverage the cognitive systems to do the data mining
John: problem with irreproducible research which makes a poor dataset: also these care packages are based on population data not personalized datasets; challenges to AI is moving correlation to causation
Carla: algorithisms from on healthcare network is not good enough, Google tried and it failed
John: curation very important; good annotation is needed; needed to go in and develop, with curators, a systematic way to curate medial records; need standardization and reproducibility; applications in radiometrics can be different based on different data collection machines; developed a machine learning model site where investigators can compare models on a hub; also need to communicate with patients on healthcare information and quality information
Ayan: Australia and Canada has done the most concerning AI and lifescience, healthcare space; AI in most cases is cognitive learning: really two types of companies 1) the Microsofts, Googles, and 2) the startups that may be more pure AI
Final Notes: We are at a point where collecting massive amounts of healthcare related data is simple, rapid, and shareable. However challenges exist in quality of datasets, proper curation and annotation, need for collaboration across all healthcare stakeholders including patients, and dissemination of useful and accurate information
9:15 AM–9:45 AM
Opening Keynote: Dr. Joshua Brody, Medical Oncologist, Mount Sinai Health System
The Promise and Hype of Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is revolutionizing oncology care across various types of cancers, but it is also necessary to sort the hype from the reality. In his keynote, Dr. Brody will delve into the history of this new therapy mode and how it has transformed the treatment of lymphoma and other diseases. He will address the hype surrounding it, why so many still don’t respond to the treatment regimen and chart the way forward—one that can lead to more elegant immunotherapy combination paths and better outcomes for patients.
hodgkin’s lymphoma best responder to PD1 therapy (nivolumab) but hepatic adverse effects
CAR-T (chimeric BCR and TCR); a long process which includes apheresis, selection CD3/CD28 cells; viral transfection of the chimeric; purification
complete remissions of B cell lymphomas (NCI trial) and long term remissions past 18 months
side effects like cytokine release (has been controlled); encephalopathy (he uses a hand writing test to see progression of adverse effect)
Vaccines
teaching the immune cells as PD1 inhibition exhausting T cells so a vaccine boost could be an adjuvant to PD1 or checkpoint therapy
using Flt3L primed in-situ vaccine (using a Toll like receptor agonist can recruit the dendritic cells to the tumor and then activation of T cell response); therefore vaccine does not need to be produced ex vivo; months after the vaccine the tumor still in remission
versus rituximab, which can target many healthy B cells this in-situ vaccine strategy is very specific for the tumorigenic B cells
HoWEVER they did see resistant tumor cells which did not overexpress PD-L1 but they did discover a novel checkpoint (cannot be disclosed at this point)
Please follow on Twitter using the following #hashtags and @pharma_BI
#MCConverge
#AI
#cancertreatment
#immunotherapy
#healthIT
#innovation
#precisionmedicine
#healthcaremodels
#personalizedmedicine
#healthcaredata
And at the following handles:
@pharma_BI
@medcitynews
Please see related articles on Live Coverage of Previous Meetings on this Open Access Journal
Lectures by The 2017 Award Recipients of Warren Alpert Foundation Prize in Cancer Immunology, October 5, 2017, HMS, 77 Louis Paster, Boston
Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
Article ID #242: LIVE: Lectures by The 2017 Award Recipients of Warren Alpert Foundation Prize in Cancer Immunology, October 5, 2017, HMS, 77 Louis Paster, Boston. Published on 9/8/2017
WordCloud Image Produced by Adam Tubman
Top, from left: James Allison and Lieping Chen. Bottom, from left: Gordon Freeman, Tasuku Honjo (NOT ATTENDED), Arlene Sharpe.
Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group
The 2017 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to five scientists for transformative discoveries in the field of cancer immunology.
Collectively, their work has elucidated foundational mechanisms in cancer’s ability to evade immune recognition and, in doing so, has profoundly altered the understanding of disease development and treatment. Their discoveries have led to the development of effective immune therapies for several types of cancer.
The 2017 award recipients are:
James Allison, professor of immunology and chair of the Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – Immune checkpoint blockage in Cancer Therapy strictly Genomics based drug
2017 FDA approved a genomics based drug
and co-stimulatory signals
CTLA-4 blockade, CD28, AntiCTLA-4 induces regression of Transplantable Murine tumor
enhance tumor-specific immune response
Fully antibody human immune response in 10,000 patients – FDA approved 2011
Ipi/Nivo vs. Ipi – combination – 60% survival vs Ipi alone
Anti CTA4 vs Anti-PD-1
responsive T cell population – MC38 TILs
MC38 Infiltrating T cell populations: T-reg, CD4, Effector, CD8, NKT/gamma-delta
Checkpoint blockage modulates infiltrating T cell population frequencies
T reg correlated with Tumor growth
Combination therapy lead to CURE survival at 80% rate vs CTAL-4 40% positive outcome
Not Attended — Tasuku Honjo, professor of immunology and genomic medicine, Kyoto University – Immune regulation of Cancer Therapy by PD-1 Blockade
Lieping Chen, United Technologies Corporation Professor in Cancer Research and Professor of immunobiology, of dermatology and of medicine, Yale University – Adoptive Resistance: Molecular Pathway t Cancer Therapy – focus on solid tumors
Enhancement – Enhance normal immune system – Co-stimulation/Co-inhibition Treg, and Cytokines, adoptive cell therapy, Lymphoid organs stores
Normalization – to correct defective immune system – normalizing tumor immunity, diverse tumor escape mechanisms
Anti-PD therapy: regression of large solid tumors: normalizing tumor immunity targeting tumor microenvironment: Heterogeneity, functional modulation, cellular and molecular components – classification by LACK of inflamation, adaptive resistance, other inhibitory pathways, intrinsic induction
avoid autoimmune toxicity,
Resetting immune response (melanoma)
Understad Resistance: Target missing resistance or Adaptive resistance Type II= acquired immunity
Gordon Freeman, professor of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School – PD-L1/PD-1 Cancer Immunotherapy
B7 antibody
block pathway – checkpoint blockage, Expand the T cells after recognition of the disease. T cell receptor signal, activation, co -stimulatory: B71 molecule, B72 – survival signals and cytokine production,.Increased T cell proliferation,
PDL-1 is a ligand of PD 1. How T cell die? genes – PD1 Gene was highly expressed,
PD-L! sisgnat inhibit T-cell activation: turn off Proliferation and cytokine production — Decreasing the immune response
T cell DNA Content: No S-phase devided cell
PD-L1 engagement of PD-1 results in activation : Pd-1 Pathway inhibits T Cell Actiivation – lyposite motility,
Pd-L2 is a second ligand for PD-1 and inhibits T cell activation
PDl-1 expression: BR CA, Ovarian, Colonol-rectal, tymus, endothelial
Blockage of the Pathway – Immune response enhanced
Dendritic cells express PD-L1, PD-L2 and combination of Two, Combination was best of all by increase of cytokine production, increasing the immune response.
PD-L1 blockade enhanced the immune response , increase killing and increased production of cytokines,
anti-tumor efficacy of anti-PD-1/Pd-L1
Pancreatic and colono-rector — PD-L, PDL1, PDL2 — does not owrkd.
In menaloma: PD-1 works better than CYLA-4
Comparison of Targeted Therapy: BRAF TKI vs Chemo high % but short term
Immunotherapy – applies several mechanism: pre-existing anti-therapy
Immune desert: PD=L does not work for them
COMBINATION THERAPY: BLOCK TUMOR INVASION THEN STIMULATE IMMUNE RESPONSE — IT WILL WORK
PD blockage + nutrients and probiotic
Tumor Genome Therapy
Tumore Immuno-evasion Score
Antigens for immune response – choose the ones
20PD-1 or PD-L1 drugs in development
WHO WILL THE DRUG WORK FOR?
Arlene Sharpe, the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology, Harvard Medical School; senior scientist, department of pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Multi-faceted Functionsof the PD-1 Pathway
function of the pathway: control T cell activation and function of maintain immune tolerance
protect tissues from damage by immune response
T cell dysfunction during cancer anf viral infection
protection from autoimmunity, inflammation,
Mechanism by which PD-1 pathway inhibits anti-tumor immunity
regulation of memoryT cell responce of PD-1
PD-1 signaling inhibit anti-tumor immunity
Compare: Mice lacking CD8-Cre- (0/5) cleared vs PD-1-/-5/5 – PD-1 DELETION: PARTIAL AND TIMED: DELETION OF PD-1 ON HALF OG TILS STARTING AT DAY 7 POSTTUMOR IMPLANTATION OF BOTH PD-1 AND PD-1 TILS: – Tamoxifen days 7-11
Transcription profile: analysis of CD8+ TILs reveal altered metabolism: Fatty Acid Metabolism vs Oxidative Phosphorylation
DOes metabolic shift: WIld type mouth vs PD-1-/_ P14: analyze Tumor cell killingPD-1-/- enhanced FAO increases CD8+ T cell tocicity
Summary: T cell memory development and PD-1: T effectors vs T cell memory: Primary vs Secondary infection: In the absent of PD-1, CD8+ T cels show increase expansion of T cells
INFLUENZA INFECTION: PRIMARY more virus in lung in PD-1 is lacking
Acute infection: PD-1 controls memory T cell differentiation vs PD-1 increase expansion during effector phase BUT impaired persistence during memory phase: impaired cytokine production post re-challenge
PD-1 immunotherapy work for patients with tumor: Recall Response and Primary response
TIL density Primary vs Long term survivor – 5 days post tumor implantation – rechallenged long term survival
Hot tumor vs Cold tumor – Deletion of PD-1 impairs T memory cell development
Opening Remarks: George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, DEAN, HMS
Scientific collaboration check point – avoid the body attacking itself, sabotaging the immune system
1987 – Vaccine for HepB
Eight of the awardees got the Nobel Prize
Moderated by Joan Brugge, PhD, HMS, Prof. of Cell Biology
Evolution of concepts of Immunotherapy: William Coley’s Toxin streptoccocus skin infection.
20th century: Immuno-surveilence, Immune response – field was dead in 1978 replaced by Immunotherapy
Rosenberg at NIH, high dose of costimulatory molecule prevented tumor reappearanceantbody induce tumor immunity–>> immune theraphy by check point receptor blockade – incidence of tumor in immune compromised mice – transfer T cell
T cell defficient, not completely defficient, self recognition of tumor,
suppress immmune – immune evasion
Michael Atkins, MD, Detupy Director, Georgetown-Lombardi, Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinical applications of Checkpoint inhibitors: Progress and Promise
Overwhelm the Immune system, hide, subvert, Shield, defend-deactivating tumor trgeting T cells that ATTACK the immune system
Immune system to TREAT the cancer
Monotherapy – anti PD1/PD-L1: Antagonist activity
Evading immune response: prostate, colcn
MMR deficiency
Nivolumab in relaped/Refractory HODGKIN LYMPHOMAS – over expression of PD-L1 and PDL2in Lymphomas
18 month survival better with Duv in Lung cancer stage 3 – anti PD-1- adjuvant therapy with broad effectiveness
Biomarkers for pD-L1 Blockage
ORR higher in PD-L1
Improve Biomarkers: Clonality of T cells in Tumors
T-effector Myeloid Inflammation Low – vs Hogh:
Biomarker Model: Neoantigen burden vs Gene expression vs CD8+
Tissue DIagnostic Labs: Tumor microenveironmenr
Microbiome
Combination: Nivo vs Nivo+Ipi is superior: DETERMINE WHEN TO STOP TREATMENT
15/16 stopped treatment – Treatment FREE SURVIVAL
Sequencing with Standard Therapies
Brain metastasis – Immune Oncology Therapy – crosses the BBB
Less Toxic regimen, better toxicity management,
Use Immuno therapy TFS
combination – survival must be justified
Goal: to make Cancer a curable disease vs cancer becoming a CHronic disease
Closing Remarks: George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, DEAN, HMS
The honorees will share a $500,000 prize and will be recognized at a day-long symposium on Oct. 5 at Harvard Medical School.
The Warren Alpert Foundation, in association with Harvard Medical School, honors trailblazing scientists whose work has led to the understanding, prevention, treatment or cure of human disease. The award recognizes seminal discoveries that hold the promise to change our understanding of disease or our ability to treat it.
“The discoveries honored by the Warren Alpert Foundation over the years are remarkable in their scope and potential,” said George Q. Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School. “The work of this year’s recipients is nothing short of breathtaking in its profound impact on medicine. These discoveries have reshaped our understanding of the body’s response to cancer and propelled our ability to treat several forms of this recalcitrant disease.”
The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is given internationally. To date, the foundation has awarded nearly $4 million to 59 scientists. Since the award’s inception, eight honorees have also received a Nobel Prize.
“We commend these five scientists. Allison, Chen, Freeman, Honjoand Sharpe are indisputable standouts in the field of cancer immunology,” said Bevin Kaplan, director of the Warren Alpert Foundation. “Collectively, they are helping to turn the tide in the global fight against cancer. We couldn’t honor more worthy recipients for the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize.”
The 2017 award: Unraveling the mysterious interplay between cancer and immunity
Understanding how tumor cells sabotage the body’s immune defenses stems from the collective work of many scientists over many years and across multiple institutions.
Each of the five honorees identified key pieces of the puzzle.
The notion that cancer and immunity are closely connected and that a person’s immune defenses can be turned against cancer is at least a century old. However, the definitive proof and demonstration of the steps in this process were outlined through findings made by the five 2017 Warren Alpert prize recipients.
Under normal conditions, so-called checkpoint inhibitor molecules rein in the immune system to ensure that it does not attack the body’s own cells, tissues and organs. Building on each other’s work, the five award recipients demonstrated how this normal self-defense mechanism can be hijacked by tumors as a way to evade immune surveillance and dodge an attack. Subverting this mechanism allows cancer cells to survive and thrive.
A foundational discovery made in the 1980s elucidated the role of a molecule on the surface of T cells, the body’s elite assassins trained to seek, spot and destroy invaders.
A protein called CTLA-4 emerged as a key regulator of T cell behavior—one that signals to T cells the need to retreat from an attack. Experiments in mice lacking CTLA-4 and use of CTLA-4 antibodies demonstrated that absence of CTLA-4 or blocking its activity could lead to T cell activation and tumor destruction.
Subsequent work identified a different protein on the surface of T cells—PD-1—as another key regulator of T cell response. Mice lacking this protein developed an autoimmune disease as a result of aberrant T cell activity and over-inflammation.
Later on, scientists identified a molecule, B7-H1, subsequently renamed PD-L1, which binds to PD-1, clicking like a key in a lock. This was followed by the discovery of a second partner for PD-1—the molecule PD-L2—which also appeared to tame T-cell activity by binding to PD-1.
The identification of these molecules led to a set of studies showing that their presence on human and mouse tumors rendered the tumors resistant to immune eradication.
A series of experiments further elucidated just how tumors exploit the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to survive. Specifically, some tumor cells appeared to express PD-L1, essentially “wrapping” themselves in it to avoid immune recognition and destruction.
Additional work demonstrated that using antibodies to block this interaction disarmed the tumors, rendering them vulnerable to immune destruction.
Collectively, the five scientists’ findings laid the foundation for antibody-based therapies that modulate the function of these molecules as a way to unleash the immune system against cancer cells.
Antibody therapy that targets CTLA-4 is currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of melanoma. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have already shown efficacy in a broad range of cancers and have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of melanoma; kidney; lung; head and neck cancer; bladder cancer; some forms of colorectal cancer; Hodgkin lymphoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.
In their own words
“I am humbled to be included among the illustrious scientists who have been honored by the Warren Alpert Foundation for their contributions to the treatment and cure of human disease in its 30+ year history. It is also recognition of the many investigators who have labored for decades to realize the promise of the immune system in treating cancer.” -James Allison
“The award is a great honor and a wonderful recognition of our work.” –Lieping Chen
“I am thrilled to have made a difference in the lives of cancer patients and to be recognized by fellow scientists for my part in the discovery of the PD-1/PD-L1 and PD-L2 pathway and its role in tumor immune evasion. I am deeply honored to be a recipient of the Alpert Award and to be recognized for my part in the work that has led to effective cancer immunotherapy. The success of immunotherapy has unleashed the energies of a multitude of scientists to further advance this novel strategy.” -Gordon Freeman
“I am extremely honored to receive the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize. I am very happy that our discovery of PD-1 in 1992 and subsequent 10-year basic research on PD-1 led to its clinical application as a novel cancer immunotherapy. I hope this development will encourage many scientists working in the basic biomedical field.” -Tasuku Honjo
“I am truly honored to be a recipient of the Alpert Award. It is especially meaningful to be recognized by my colleagues for discoveries that helped define the biology of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways. The clinical translation of our fundamental understanding of these pathways illustrates the value of basic science research, and I hope this inspires other scientists.” -Arlene Sharpe
Previous winners
Last year’s award went to five scientists who were instrumental in the discovery and development of the CRISPR bacterial defense mechanism as a tool for gene editing. They were RodolpheBarrangou of North Carolina State University, Philippe Horvath of DuPont in Dangé-Saint-Romain, France, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin and Umeå University in Sweden, and Virginijus Siksnys of the Institute of Biotechnology at Vilnius University in Lithuania.
Other past recipients include:
Tu Youyou of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, who went on to receive the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two others, and Ruth and Victor Nussenzweig, of NYU Langone Medical Center, for their pioneering discoveries in chemistry and parasitology of malaria and the translation of their work into the development of drug therapies and an anti-malarial vaccine.
Oleh Hornykiewicz of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Toronto; Roger Nicoll of the University of California, San Francisco; and Solomon Snyder of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for research into neurotransmission and neurodegeneration.
David Botstein of Princeton University and Ronald Davis and David Hogness of Stanford University School of Medicine for contributions to the concepts and methods of creating a human genetic map.
Alain Carpentier of Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou in Paris and Robert Langer of MIT for innovations in bioengineering.
Harald zur Hausen and Lutz Gissmann of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg for work on the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cancer of the cervix. Zur Hausenand others were honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008.
The Warren Alpert Foundation
Each year the Warren Alpert Foundation receives between 30 and 50 nominations from scientific leaders worldwide. Prize recipients are selected by the foundation’s scientific advisory board, which is composed of distinguished biomedical scientists and chaired by the dean of Harvard Medical School.
Warren Alpert (1920-2007), a native of Chelsea, Mass., established the prize in 1987 after reading about the development of a vaccine for hepatitis B. Alpert decided on the spot that he would like to reward such breakthroughs, so he picked up the phone and told the vaccine’s creator, Kenneth Murray of the University of Edinburgh, that he had won a prize. Alpert then set about creating the foundation.
To award subsequent prizes, Alpert asked Daniel Tosteson (1925-2009), then dean of Harvard Medical School, to convene a panel of experts to identify scientists from around the world whose research has had a direct impact on the treatment of disease.
Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology SUMMIT took place August 29-September 2, 2016 at the Marriott Long Wharf Boston, MA. The following is a synthesis of the Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy stream.
Biomarkers
Biomarkers for patient selection in clinical trials is an important consideration for developing cancer therapeutics and immunotherapeutics such as oncolytic viruses in particular. Howard L. Kaufman, M.D., discussed the development of biomarkers for oncolytic virus efficaciousness and patient selection focusing on Imlygic (HSV-1). An important consideration for any viral therapy is the presence or absence of the receptors that the virus uses to gain entry to the cell. For example HSV-1 utilises Nectin and HVEM cell surface receptors and their expression levels on a patient’s tumour will influence whether Imlygic can gain entry and replicate in tumours. In addition he reported that B-RAF mutation facilitates Imlygic infection and that MEK inhibitors sensitise melanoma cell lines to Imlygic. Stephen Russell also presented data on the mathematical modelling of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) tumour spread and the development of a companion diagnostic based on gene expression profiling to predict patients whose tumours will be readily infected.
The immune reaction triggered by oncolytic viruses is important to monitor. Howard L. Kaufman discussed immunogenic cell death and stated that oncolytic viruses trigger immunity through the release of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). He reported that immunosuppressive Tregs, PDL1 and IDO expression were associated with anti-cancer CD8+ T cell infiltration. Imlygic also promoted the tumour infiltration of monocytes which depending on the context may either be immunosuppressive or beneficial through recruiting natural killer (NK) cells. This highlights the importance of combining Imlygic with other immune modulating therapeutics that can modulate the immunosuppressive cells and messengers that are present in the tumour environment. He discussed the finding that high mutation burden is a marker for response to immune checkpoint inhibition (such as CTLA and PD1) and suggested that due to the fact that oncolytic viruses release tumour associated antigens (TAA) during cell lysis this may also be a predictive marker for oncolytic viral therapy immune response. Supporting this notion Stephen Russell reported that a patient that underwent complete remission of multiple myeloma plasmacytomas in response to a measles virus oncotherapy had a very high mutational burden.
Targeting the tumour stroma with adenoviral vectors
“VCN Biosciences SL is a privately-owned company focused in the development of new therapeutic approaches for tumors that lack effective treatment”. Manel Cascalló presented data from an ongoing phase I, multi-center, open-label dose escalation study of intravenous administration of VCN-01 oncolytic adenovirus with or without intravenous gemcitabine and Abraxane® in advanced solid tumors. Patients were selected based on low anti-Ad levels. Manel highlighted the problems of the pancreatic cancer matrix which limit intratumoral virus spread and also reduces chemotherapy uptake and tumour lymphocyte infiltration. VCN-01 expresses hyaluronidase to degrade the extracellular matrix and is administered intravenously. Liver tropism is reduced by replacement of the heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan putative-binding site KKTK of the fiber shaft with an integrin-binding motif RGDK. VCN-01 replicates only in Rb tumour suppressor pathway dysregulated cancers, achieved through genetic modification of the E1A protein. In previous mouse xenograft studies of pancreatic and melanoma tumours VCN-01 showed efficaciousness in intratumoral spread, degradation of hyaluronan, and evidence of sensitisation to chemotherapy. The mouse models suggested that strategies that further target other major components of the ECM such as collagen and stromal cells may increase VCN-01 efficaciousness further [1]. The phase I trial supported safety and demonstrated that when administered intravenously VCN-01 reached the pancreatic tumour and replicated. In combination with gemcitabine and Abraxane® neutropenia was observed earlier than with chemotherapy alone. This is suggestive of increased efficaciousness of the chemotherapeutics as would be expected if a greater effective concentration reached the tumour. Biopsies suggested that VCN-01 shifted the balance of immune cells towards CD8+ T cells and away from immunosuppressive Treg.
“PsiOxus Therapeutics Ltd develops novel therapeutics for serious diseases with a particular focus upon cancer”. Brian Champion discussed the application EnAd a chimeric Ad11p/Ad3 adenovirus which retains the Ad11 receptor usage (CD46 and DSG2). PsiOxus are developing Membrane-integrated T-cell Engagers (MiTe) proteins delivered via EnAd. These MiTe proteins are expressed at the cancer cell surface and engage with and activate T-cells. Their lead candidate NG-348 showed promising T-cell activation in vitro.
Vaccinia virus – overcoming the immunosuppressive cancer microenvironment
David Kirn provided a recent history of the oncolytic virus field and provided an overview of the validation of vaccinia virus over the period 2007-14 stating that it can produce cancer oncolysis, induce an immune response, and result in angiogenic ablation.
“Western Oncolytics develops novel therapies for cancer”. Steve Thorne discussed strategies to mitigate the immunosupressive environment encountered by oncolytic viruses. He presented data from models of tumours resistant to vaccinia oncolytic virus that Treg, and myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) numbers were higher whereas CD8+ T-cell levels were lower than in a sensitive model. He elaborated on a strategy of targeting the PGE2 pathway in order to reduce MDSC numbers entering the tumour microenvironment. He demonstrated that vaccinia virus expressing HPGD has reduced levels of MDSC in target tumours.
“Transgene (Euronext: TNG), part of Institut Mérieux, is a publicly traded French biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases”. Eric Quéméneur presented preclinical data on Transgene’s oncolytic vaccinia virus TG6002 which expresses a chimeric bifunctional enzyme which converts the nontoxic prodrug 5‐FC into the toxic metabolites 5‐FU and 5‐FUMP. This allows systemic delivery of the non-toxic prodrug chemotherapy with activation at tumours infected with the Vaccinia oncolytic virus. The virus plus prodrug combination was effective against all of the solid tumour cell lines tested. In addition the combination was effective against glioblastoma cancer stem-like cells. In pancreatic and colorectal cancer cell line models the vaccinia prodrug combination was synergistic or additive when combined with additional chemotherapeutics. In immunocompetent mouse models TG6002 increased the Tumour Teff/Treg ratio indicative of a shift from an immunosuppressive to an immunocompetent microenvironment. Furthermore in mouse models TG6002 induced an abscopal response.
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) – A single shot cure for cancer?
“Vyriad strives to develop potent, safe and cost-effective cancer therapies in areas of unmet need”. Stephen Russell presented his position that oncolytic viruses could be a single shot cure for cancer. He emphasised the point that in oncolytic viral therapy the initial dose will be the most effective due to the relatively low levels of neutralising antibodies present and therefore defining the optimal dose is critical. The trend is for increased initial dose. Two IND’s have been accepted by the FDA, one for measles virus and the other for VSV.
John Bell described using VSV to deliver Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) to tumours. It was demonstrate that a VSV delivering ARID1A amiRNA was synthetic lethal when combined with EZH2 (methyl transferase) inhibition. He postulated that oncolytic viruses can be used to create factories of therapeutic amiRNAs transmitted throughout the tumour by exosomes.
HSV-1 an update on immune checkpoint combinations
Amgen was the first company to launch an FDA approved (October 2015) oncolytic virus, trade name Imlygic, which was developed by the UK based company Biovex. Jennifer Gansert gave a background on Imlygic and presented new data on combination with the CTLA4 inhibitor Ipilimumab. In mouse models abscopal response in contralateral tumours was 100% when a single tumour was treated with Imlygic combined with systemic delivery of anti-CTLA4. A Phase 1b clinical trial to test the combination in unresectable melanoma patients was completed and published in 2016. Fifty percent of the patients had durable response for greater than 6 months and 20% of the patients had ongoing complete response after a year of follow-up. Overall 72% of patients has controlled disease (no progression). In addition Amgen is recruiting for a phase III trial of the anti-PD1 Pembrolizumab in combination with Imlygic for unresectable stage IIIB to IVM1c melanoma.
“Virttu is a privately held biotechnology company, which has pioneered the development of oncolytic viruses for treating cancer”. Joe Connor discussed Seprehvir an oncolyic virus based on HSV-1 like Imlygic which is in clinical trials for which 100 patients have been treated to date. The trial data indicate that Seprehvir induces CD8+ T cell infiltration and activity as well as a novel anti-tumour immune response against select antigens such as Mage A8/9. Preclinical investigations focus on combination with checkpoint inhibitor antibodies, CAR-T targeted to GD2, and synergies with targeted therapies on the mTOR/VEGFR signalling axes.
Reovirus – an update
“Oncolytics Biotech Inc. is a clinical-stage oncology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses for use as cancer therapeutics in some of the most prevalent forms of the disease”. Brad Thompson provided an update on REOLYSIN®, Oncolytics Biotech’s proprietary T3D reovirus. Highlights included concluding the first checkpoint inhibitor and REOLYSIN® study in patients with pancreatic cancer and preparing for registration study in multiple myeloma.
Maraba virus – privileged antigen presentation in splenic B cell follicles
Turnstone Biologics is developing “a first-in-class oncolytic viral immunotherapy that combines a bioselected and engineered oncolytic virus to directly lyse tumors with a potent vaccine technology to drive tumor-antigen specific T-cell responses of unprecedented magnitude”. Caroline Breitbach described Maraba MG1 Oncolytic Virus which was isolated from Brazilian sand flies. Their lead candidate is an MG1 virus expressing the tumour antigen MAGE-A3. In mouse models a combination of adenovirus-MAGE-A3 and MG1-MAGE-A3 in a prime-boost regimen produced extremely robust CD8+ T cell responses. It is thought that a privileged antigen presentation in splenic B cell follicles maximizes the T cell responses. A phase I/II trial is enrolling patients to test the adenovirus-MAGE-A3 and MG1-MAGE-A3 prime-boost regimen in patients with MAGE‐A3 positive solid tumours for which there is no life prolonging standard therapy.
Oncolytic virus manufacturing
Anthony Davies of Dark Horse Consulting Inc. reviewed the manufacturing hurdles facing oncolytic viruses and pointed out that thus far adenovirus is the gold standard. He discussed isoelectric focusing for virus manufacturing, process flow and the procurement of key raw materials. He emphasized the importance of codifying analytical methods, and the statistical design of experiments (DOE) for optimal use of finite resources.
Mark Federspiel described the difficulties associated with measles virus manufacturing which include the large pleomorphic size (100-300nm) which cannot be filter sterilized efficiently due to shear stress. As a result aseptic conditions must be maintained throughout the manufacturing process. There are also issues with genomic contamination from infected cells. He described improved manufacturing bioprocesses to overcome these limitations using the HeLa S3 cell line. Using this cell line resulted in less residual genomic DNA than the standard however it was still relatively high compared to vaccine production. There is still much room for improvement.
REFERENCES Rodríguez-García A, Giménez-Alejandre M, Rojas JJ, Moreno R, Bazan-Peregrino M, Cascalló M, Alemany R. Safety and efficacy of VCN-01, an oncolytic adenovirus combining fiber HSG-binding domain replacement with RGD and hyaluronidase expression. Clin Cancer Res. 2015 Mar 15;21(6):1406-18. Doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-14-2213. Epub 2014 Nov 12. PubMed PMID: 25391696.
Other Related Articles Published In This Open Access Online Journal Include The Following:
Real Time Coverage and eProceedings of Presentations on August 29 and August 30, 2016 CHI’s 4th IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY SUMMIT – Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy Track
LIVE Tweets via @pharma_BI and by @AVIVA1950 for August 29 and August 30, 2016 of CHI’s 4th IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY SUMMIT – Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy Track, Marriott Long Wharf Hotel –Boston
Deep Learning for In-silico Drug Discovery and Drug Repurposing: Artificial Intelligence to search for molecules boosting response rates in Cancer Immunotherapy: Insilico Medicine @John Hopkins University, Volume 2 (Volume Two: Latest in Genomics Methodologies for Therapeutics: Gene Editing, NGS and BioInformatics, Simulations and the Genome Ontology), Part 1: Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)
Deep Learning for In-silico Drug Discovery and Drug Repurposing: Artificial Intelligence to search for molecules boosting response rates in Cancer Immunotherapy: Insilico Medicine @John Hopkins University
Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
Insilico Medicine –>>> transcriptome-based pathway perturbation analysis
Insilico Medicine, Inc. is a bioinformatics company located at the Emerging Technology Centers at the Johns Hopkins University Eastern campus in Baltimore with R&D resources in Belgium, Russia, and Poland hiring talent through hackathons and competitions. It utilizes advances in genomics, big data analysis and deep learning for in silico drug discovery and drug repurposing for aging and age-related diseases. The company pursues internal drug discovery programs in cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, sarcopenia and geroprotector discovery. Through its Pharmaceutical Artificial Intelligence division the company provides advanced machine learning services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and skin care companies.
Insilico Medicine develops a new approach to concomitant cancer immunotherapy
Artificial intelligence to search for molecules boosting response rates in cancer immunotherapy
INSILICO MEDICINE, INC.
IMAGE: THIS IS THE INSILICO MEDICINE LOGO.view more
CREDIT: INSILICO MEDICINE
Summary:
Some of the most promising drugs for cancer therapy called checkpoint inhibitors often result in complete remissions, however, a majority of patients fail cancer immunotherapy with antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, such as CTLA-4 or programmed death-1 (PD-1).
Insilico Medicine developed a set of pathway-based signatures of response to popular checkpoint inhibitors
Using these markers and a deep learned drug scoring engine Insilico Medicine identified 12 leads that may help increase response to cancer immunotherapy and is seeking industry partnerships to test these leads
Thursday, July 14, 2016, Baltimore, MD — Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy demonstrated complete remission in multiple tumor types including melanoma and lung cancers. Almost every major pharmaceutical company operating in oncology space started multiple programs in immuno-oncology with thousands of clinical trials underway. Immuno-oncology is now a very broad field ranging from treatment of a patient with an engineered antibody to genome editing of patient’s immune cells. Genetic mutations accruing from the inherent genomic instability of tumor cells present neo-antigens that are recognized by the immune system. Cross-presentation of tumor antigens at the immune synapse between antigen-presenting dendritic cells and T lymphocytes can potentially activate an adaptive antitumor immune response, however, tumors continuously evolve to counteract and ultimately defeat such immune surveillance by co-opting and amplifying mechanisms of immune tolerance to evade elimination by the immune system. This prerequisite for tumor progression is enabled by the ability of cancers to produce negative regulators of immune response.
Cancer immunotherapy is currently focused on targeting immune inhibitory checkpoints that control T cell activation, such as CTLA-4 and PD-1. Monoclonal antibodies that block these immune checkpoints (commonly referred to as immune checkpoint inhibitors) can unleash antitumor immunity and produce durable clinical responses in a subset of patients with advanced cancers, such as melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer. However, these immunotherapeutics are currently constrained by their inability to induce clinical responses in the vast majority of patients and the frequent occurrence of immune-related adverse events. A key limitation of checkpoint inhibitors is that they narrowly focus on modulating the immune synapse but do not address other key molecular determinants that may also be responsible for immune dysfunction.
Immunoresistance often ensues as a result of the concomitant activation of multiple, often overlapping signaling pathways. Therefore, inhibition of multiple, cross-talking pathways involved in survival control with combination therapy is usually more effective in decreasing the likelihood that cancer cells will develop therapeutic resistance than with single agent therapy. While research efforts are now focused on identifying new inhibitory mechanisms that could be targeted to achieve responses in patients with refractory cancers and provide durable and adaptable cancer control, there are outstanding challenges in determining what combination of immunotherapies and conventional therapies will prove beneficial against each tumor type.
“Immunotherapy is the most promising area in oncology resulting in cures, but we need to identify effective combinations of both established methods and new drugs developed specifically to boost response rates. At Insilico Medicine we developed a new method for screening, scoring and personalizing small molecules that may boost response rates to PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA4 and other checkpoint inhibitors. We can identify effective combinations of both established methods and new drugs developed specifically to boost response rates to immunotherapy”, said Artem Artemov, director of computational drug repurposing at Insilico Medicine.
Insilico Medicine, Inc. is one of the leaders in transcriptome-based pathway perturbation analysis. It is also a pioneer in applying cutting edge artificial intelligence techniques to biological and medical data analysis, particularly focused on in silico screening for new compounds against cancer and known drugs which can be repurposed against different cancers. One of the major programs currently ongoing at Insilico Medicine is evaluation of the transcriptional responses to multiple checkpoint inhibitors and analyzing the pathway-level differences in patients who respond and fail to respond to clinically approved checkpoint inhibitors. This novel computational approach is aimed at identifying new drug candidates which can be used in combination with immunotherapy to unleash durable antitumor effect against several types of cancers.
Recently, scientists at Insilico Medicine performed a large in silico screening of compounds that can be administered in combination with anti-PD1 immunotherapy to increase response rates. The researchers collected transcriptomic data from tumors of patients who either responded or failed to respond to standard immunotherapy, using both publically available and internally generated data. Next, they used differential pathway activation analysis and deep learning based approaches to identify transcriptomic signatures predicting the success of immunotherapy in a particular tumor type.
Finally, they analyzed drug-induced transcriptomic effects to screen for the drugs that can robustly drive transcriptomes of tumor cells from non-responsive state to the state responsive to immunotherapy. In other words, researchers developed approach that can predict whether drug of interest would induce a transcriptional signature that characterizes those patients that respond to cancer immunotherapy in non-respondents. This method allows personalizing these drugs to individual patients and specific checkpoint inhibitors. Among the top-scoring drugs, they found several compounds known to increase response rates in combination with cancer immunotherapy. One of the top-scoring compounds included a naturally-occurring substance marketed as a natural product.
The current list of top-scoring leads that may increase response rates to checkpoint inhibitors included 12 small molecules identified using signaling pathway perturbation analysis and annotated using a deeply learned drug scoring system. Insilico Medicine is currently open for partnerships which will allow further testing and validation of the discovered compounds ex vivo on cell cultures established from tumors which respond and failed to respond to immunotherapy, as well as in mice with patient-derived tumor xenografts. This approach may greatly reduce the costs of preclinical trials and significantly shorten the timeframe from a drug prediction to validation and marketing. The compounds, after preclinical and clinical validation, may improve cancer care and dramatically increase the lifespan of cancer patients.
A panel of leads for concomitant immunotherapy is part of a large number of leads developed using DeepPharma™, artificially-intelligent drug discovery engine, which includes a large number of molecules predicted to be effective antineoplastic agents, metabolic regulators, CVD and CNS lead, senolytics and ED drugs. Recently Insilico Medicine published several seminal papers demonstrating proof of concept of utilizing deep learning techniques to predict pharmacological properties of small molecules using transcriptional response data utilizing deep neural networks for biomarker development. “Deep Learning Applications for Predicting Pharmacological Properties of Drugs and Drug Repurposing Using Transcriptomic Data,” a paper published in Molecular Pharmaceuticals received the American Chemical Society Editors’ Choice Award. Another recent collaboration with Biotime, Inc resulted in a launch of Embryonic.AI, deep learned predictor of differentiation state of the sample.
###
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
“I am humbled to be included among the illustrious scientists who have been honored by the Warren Alpert Foundation for their contributions to the treatment and cure of human disease in its 30+ year history. It is also recognition of the many investigators who have labored for decades to realize the promise of the immune system in treating cancer.”
“The award is a great honor and a wonderful recognition of our work.”
“I am extremely honored to receive the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize. I am very happy that our discovery of PD-1 in 1992 and subsequent 10-year basic research on PD-1 led to its clinical application as a novel cancer immunotherapy. I hope this development will encourage many scientists working in the basic biomedical field.”
“I am truly honored to be a recipient of the Alpert Award. It is especially meaningful to be recognized by my colleagues for discoveries that helped define the biology of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways. The clinical translation of our fundamental understanding of these pathways illustrates the value of basic science research, and I hope this inspires other scientists.”
2012pharmaceutical
sjwilliamspa