Description:
So, there seems to be a strong trend in oncology towards bispecific antibodies, either in the form of immune cell engagers (targeting a tumor antigen and an immune cell receptor), or dual-targeting antibodies (targeting two unique therapeutic targets like PD-1 and VEGF, for example).
I recently released a video discussing this recent trend and how “multispecific protein therapeutics” are poised to dominate the oncology landscape in the near future. Check it out here: A New Era of Cancer Therapy Has Begun
Well, the vast majority of FDA approved bispecifics for cancer therapy are classified as T cell engagers. These things are antibodies that bind to: i) a tumor-associated antigen and ii) CD3 on T cells, inducing T cell-mediated cancer killing.
While T cell engagers display potent therapeutic activity, they have two notable limitations:
i) they can cause cytokine release syndrome (very toxic), and
ii) they’re only able to induce T cell killing against antigen-positive cells, leaving room for antigen-negative cells to escape – RESISTANCE!
NK cell engagers, on the other hand, don’t really suffer from either of these limitations (as much) because:
i) they are much safer because NK cells tend NOT to induce CRS, and
ii) they can – IN THEORY – cause NK cells to target cancer cells in an antigen-independent manner.
Despite this, it seems as though NK cell engagers don’t attract as much attention as T cell engagers…why?
Well, in this week’s Trends in Oncology video at Oncoleader, I explain exactly why T cell engagers tend to overshadow their NK counterpart and then discuss some very new data from Innate Pharma that could very well begin to shift this paradigm.
Innate Pharma Science Immunology paper published Nov. 15, 2024
Key topics discussed:
🔴 NK Cell Engager Basics – why should we even care about them…?
🔴 Overview of the NK Cell Engager field – who is making these things?
🔴 The unique aspect of Innate Pharma’s platform
🔴 Key findings from Innate’s paper published last week
🔴 Potential implications for the future of oncology
Feel free to share the video with colleagues, friends, or anyone who might find it valuable or interesting!
