CYTOKINE-ARMORED CELL THERAPIES: OVERCOMING IMMUNOSUPPRESSION AND IMPROVING PERSISTENCE

Historically, the cell therapy landscape has faced major challenges regarding limited immune cell persistence and immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. As a result, developers are turning to more complex approaches to combat this; the use of cytokines in engineered cell therapies is one approach that has recently climbed in popularity. The race for success in this field becomes ever more competitive, with the number of trials using the cytokine-armoring strategy accelerating over the last 4 years.

The co-administration of recombinant cytokines, usually IL-2, with cell therapies remains common in the clinic. However, with the significant toxicity concerns of IL-2 and the cost of using GMP cytokines, could developers be investing in therapies with ‘built-in’ cytokine effectors instead?