ViroCell Biologics, a London-based viral vector CDMO for cell and gene therapy clinical trials, has partnered with University College London (UCL) to advance its pediatric cancer treatment.
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Scientists and clinicians at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) studying the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies in children with leukaemia, have discovered a small sub-set of T-cells that are likely to play a key role in whether the treatment is successful.
Researchers say stem cell memory T-cells appear critical in both destroying the cancer at the outset and for long term immune surveillance and exploiting this quality could improve the design and performance of CAR T therapies.
Explaining the study, published in
Nature Cancer, lead author Dr Luca Biasco (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), said: During clinical trials we have seen some very encouraging results in young patients with leukaemia, however it s still not clear why CAR T-cells continue to be present in the long-term for some patients, stopping the cancer from returning, while others remain at a high risk of relapse.