Cleavage resistant, regulatable CARs; plus Repertoire, Merus and more

Two academic teams published strategies to boost CAR T cell activity using a combination of CAR engineering and co-administration of a small molecule therapy.

A team led by Marcela Maus at Massachusetts General Hospital enhanced antitumor efficacy of a CD70-targeted CAR T cell therapy by making the CAR cleavage resistant and co-administering azacitidine to increase antigen density on the tumor cells. Shown in Cancer Cell, the combination of azacitidine and the modified CAR-expressing T cells, dubbed CD8H&TM, increased T cell expansion, tumor control and survival in mouse models of acute myelogenous leukemia where standard CD70-directed CARs have modest activity...