NantKwest Announces Publication of Preclinical Data of haNK Cell Therapy in Combination with Checkpoint Inhibitor Avelumab Pr...
25 Luglio 2017 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
NantKwest Inc. (Nasdaq:NK), a clinical-stage immunotherapy
company focused on harnessing the unique power of the immune system
using natural killer (NK) cells to treat cancer, infectious
diseases, and inflammatory diseases, today announced a paper
entitled “ADCC employing an NK cell line (haNK) expressing the high
affinity CD16 allele with avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 antibody”
published in the International Journal of Cancer
(10.1002/ijc.30767) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). All the
authors are from NCI. The paper reported preclinical data that are
associated with the company’s haNK cell therapy platform in
combination with avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor being
co-developed by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer Inc. The
preclinical data were generated under a Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) between NCI and NantBioScience and a
CRADA between NCI and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
In this study, haNK cells, which are NantKwest’s proprietary NK
cells, engineered to express the IL-2 cytokine and the high
affinity CD16 allele, have been combined with avelumab, a human
IgG1 anti-PD-L1 antibody.
Consistent with previous studies, results demonstrate the
enhanced cancer cell killing abilities of haNK cells in combination
with avelumab in a range of cancer cell types via the antibody
dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) mechanism.
ADCC is part of the human cell-mediated immune defense system
associated with the interaction of natural killer cells with
antibodies to directly kill a target cell that has been identified
by an antigen-specific antibody. It is one of the key mechanisms
that antibodies utilize to target and kill cancer cells.
In addition, engineering haNK cells to express IL-2 enables a
“serial killer like” capacity, killing greater levels of target
cells by increasing the exposure to target cells and increasing
activity while also replenishing the granular stock of NK cells,
enhancing the granzyme-mediated lysis of NK cells which exhibit an
exhausted phenotype.
Of note, consistent with previous studies with haNK cells, this
study demonstrated that activity, cytotoxicity and immune signaling
capabilities of haNK cells remained intact post-irradiation.
haNK Cell Therapy Platform
NantKwest’s haNK cell therapy platform, an allogeneic,
off-the-shelf therapy, was developed to optimize the key role of
natural killer cells in mediating innate immunity, enhancing
adaptive immune responses, and, specifically in the case of haNK,
improving anti-tumor responses via antibody-dependent cell-mediated
cytotoxicity.
To achieve this objective, haNK cells have been engineered to
express the IL-2 cytokine and the high-affinity variant of the CD16
receptor (V158 FcγRIIIa). In preclinical studies, the addition of
haNK to a variety of therapeutic antibodies has led to increased
tumor cell killing when compared to the antibody alone. Human
clinical studies are designed to provide the necessary safety data
to rapidly transition the haNK Phase I safety study to
haNK-antibody combination trials as quickly as possible.
haNK Phase I Study Background
The primary objective of the Phase I study is to determine the
safety of haNK cell monotherapy administered intravenously once per
week in up to 16 patients with metastatic or locally advanced solid
tumors. Secondary objectives include the determination of objective
response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and any
correlations between tumor molecular profiles (based on genomics,
transcriptomics, and quantitative proteomics) and patient
outcomes.
For additional information, including exclusion and inclusion
criteria, contact information and other details, please visit
www.clinicaltrials.gov, QUILT trial #3.028.
A second haNK clinical trial, QUILT trial #3.046, NANT Melanoma
Vaccine: Combination Immunotherapy in Subjects with Melanoma Who
Have Progressed On or After Chemotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1 Therapy,
was also recently been posted on clinicaltrials.gov and will be
open for participant recruitment in the next few months.
About NantKwest
NantKwest (Nasdaq:NK) is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company
focused on harnessing the unique power of our immune system using
natural killer (NK) cells to treat cancer, infectious diseases and
inflammatory diseases. NK cells are the body’s first line of
defense due to the innate ability of NK cells to rapidly identify
and destroy cells under stress, such as cancer or virally-infected
cells.
NantKwest’s unique NK cell-based platform, with the capacity to
grow active killer cells as a biological cancer therapy, has been
designed to induce cell death against cancer or infected cells by
three different modes of action: (1) Direct killing using activated
NK cells (aNK) that release toxic granules directly into the cell
through cell to cell contact, (2) Antibody-mediated killing using
haNKs, which are NK cells engineered to incorporate a high affinity
receptor that binds to an administered antibody, enhancing the
cancer cell killing effect of that antibody, and (3) Targeted
activated killing using taNKs, which are NK cells engineered to
incorporate chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to target
tumor-specific antigens found on the surface of cancer cells.
Our aNK, haNK and taNK platform addresses certain limitations of
T cell therapies including the reduction of risk of serious
"cytokine storms" reported after T cell therapy. As an
“off-the-shelf” therapy, NantKwest's NK cells do not rely on a
patient’s own often compromised immune system. In Phase 1 clinical
trials in patients with late stage cancer, NantKwest's NK cells
have been successfully administered as an outpatient infusion
therapy without any reported severe side effects, even at doses of
10 billion cells.
By leveraging an integrated and extensive genomics and
transcriptomics discovery and development engine, together with a
pipeline of multiple, clinical-stage, immuno-oncology programs that
include a Phase 2 trial for a rare form of melanoma and the planned
initiation of a clinical trial of NK cells targeted to breast
cancer, we believe NantKwest is uniquely positioned to be the
premier immunotherapy company and transform medicine by delivering
living drugs in a bag and bringing novel NK cell-based therapies to
routine clinical care. For more information please visit
www.nantkwest.com and follow Dr. Soon-Shiong on Twitter@
Dr.PatSoonShiong.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170725005412/en/
NantKwestJen Hodsonjhodson@nantworks.com
Grafico Azioni China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. ADS, Each Representing Eight Ordinary Shares (MM) (NASDAQ:NKBP)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Azioni China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. ADS, Each Representing Eight Ordinary Shares (MM) (NASDAQ:NKBP)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024