Plasticell & LambdaGen Form Collaboration to Develop iPSC-Derived CAR-NK Allogeneic Cancer Immunotherapies

Plasticell Ltd recently announced today it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Singapore-based LambdaGen. Together, the two companies will exploit genome-editing technologies based on synthetic lambda integrases that allow specific insertion of large gene cassettes into the human genome.

The UK-Singapore partnership is in part financed by a EUREKA GlobalStars competitive grant. The funding has been awarded to enable the two organisations to carry out a project – valued at GBP £400,000 (SGD $650,000) – which aims to create  a broadly-applicable iPSC-derived allogenic immunotherapy platform.

LambdaGen will produce iPSC lines engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and other effectors that enhance the anti-tumour activity of immune cells. Plasticell will use its combinatorial screening technology, CombiCult, to develop optimal protocols to convert these iPSCs into natural killer (NK) cells for allogeneic cancer immunotherapy.

“Cellular immunotherapy using CAR-T cells has revolutionized cancer treatment but these personalized medicines have significant manufacturing constraints and are prohibitively costly. There is a need for alternative “off-the-shelf” immunotherapy products, which can be met by engineered NK cells capable of functioning in an allogeneic setting,” commented Dr. Marina Tarunina, Research Director of Plasticell. Our team has longstanding experience in deriving novel, GMP-compliant protocols for robust and efficient differentiation of iPSCs into a variety of haematopoietic lineages including immune cell subtypes suitable for immunotherapy.”

“iPSCs can be engineered with various functionalities to increase safety and efficacy of differentiated immune cell products, and to reduce the manufacturing complexity and cost. LambdaGen’s technology allows facile insertion of multi-gene cassettes at pre-determined safe harbor sites of the human genome,” added Dr. Harshyaa Makhija, CEO of LambdaGen. “We intend to engineer immune cells with multiple genes that increase tumour specificity, persistence, homing, and resistance to the tumour microenvironment, with a view to creating next-generation therapeutic products.

The cellular immunotherapy sector is currently dominated by CAR-T therapies – with over 2100 products in development. NK cells are the second most utilised cell type with over 500 products in development. Genetic modifications (besides CAR-T) which are engineered into cell immunotherapies represent a new approach to enhancing safety and potency. Currently, “armored” cell therapies comprise approximately 10% of assets in development.

Plasticell is a UK biotechnology company developing therapies through precise manipulation of stem cells and more differentiated cell types using award-winning combinatorial screening technology. Plasticell is advancing a number of therapeutic programs, including the expansion of hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow and cord blood, the manufacture of red blood cells, platelets and immune cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Plasticell’s combinatorial screening technology, CombiCult®, allows testing of cell culture variables to derive optimal manufacturing protocols for any given outcome in cell biology, including cell expansion and differentiation, gene transduction and protein production, as well as the provision of human cells for drug screening. Plasticell collaborates with leading universities and industry partners to facilitate discovery and improve product manufacturing in a variety of high value areas such as cell therapy, gene therapy, cancer immunotherapy and drug discovery. For more information, visit http://www.plasticell.co.uk.