New cell therapy cures metastatic cancer in mouse

Metastatic cancer causes most cancer-related deaths. Conventional treatments often fail to eliminate all metastatic cells. Metastases frequently develop immunosuppressive resistance mechanisms protecting them from
immunotherapy that work well in primary tumors. Currently, specific treatment options for metastatic cancers are very limited and the need for new treatment options is high. An innovative therapy to improve patient outcomes and survival rates has just been discovered by the inventors.

Many cancers suppress the activity of NK and T cells by producing the immunosuppressive prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The invention uses genetically modified NK and T cells that do not express the PGE2 receptors EP2 and EP4 and
are no longer inactivated by PGE2. As a result, the cancer cells lose their "protection" from the RESURRECT NK and T cells, allowing them to efficiently perform their anti-cancer functions and eliminate solid tumors and metastases. RESURRECT cells have been shown to be safe and well tolerated in cancer immunotherapy with extensive validation in mouse models. The RESURRECT innovation involves NK and T cells that resist the deleterious effects of the immunosuppressant PGE2 in the tumor microenvironment, enabling strong and long-lasting activity against cancer cells in primary tumors and metastases. The mechanism of action targeted by RESURRECT cells is conserved from mouse to human cancers. The RESURRECT cell therapies can be used in an allogeneic setting, allowing their off- the-shelf use as future cancer therapy.

- RESURRECT cells overcome immunosuppression in tumors and metastases

- Persistent anti-cancer activity and cancer elimination

- Successfully tested in melanoma, colorectal and pancreatic cancer models, and in human cell culture

- RESURRECT cells are effective in tumors resistant to standard immunotherapies

TRL Level 5.5