Cellectis

Cellectis to Report Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results on November 4, 2024. Full press release here: https://lnkd.in/ea9rvJWH #geneediting, #genetherapy

Cellectis to Present Data on TALE-Base Editors and Non-Viral Gene Therapy at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy 31st Annual Congress. To read the press release: https://lnkd.in/eD_ZNfPA #genetherapy #celltherapy

Natural killer (NK) cells are game changers in cancer treatment. Why?   ✅ NK cells can recognize and kill tumor cells without prior priming and can be adoptively transferred in allogenic settings to treat multiple cancers without causing graft-versus-host disease.   But:   ❌ Sourcing and producing large quantity of therapeutic NK cells is difficult due to their poor intrinsic expansion capabilities.   ❌ Their clinical efficacy is often compromised by tumor-intrinsic immunosuppressive microenvironments.   Additionally:   💡 Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) could represent a relevant cellular scaffold to overcome these main two challenges. Indeed, iPSC are easy to source, bears unlimited self-renewal capability and high propensity for genomic modification by gene editing technics. 💡 These unique features could enable generating an iPSC-derived NK cell endowed with additional functions that promote optimal expansion of iPSC-derived NK cells (iNK) and unleash their full anticancer activity, even in tumor-intrinsic immunosuppressive microenvironments.     Knowing this, Cellectis and Cytovia Therapeutics developed a new approach:   A TALEN-edited iPSC-derived NK cells (iNK-cells) containing an IL-15 knocked-in at the B2M locus and the TGFbR2 knockout (KO). This strategy promotes IL-15 expression in iNKs, PBNKs, and CBNKs while minimizing it in human iPSCs. Furthermore, engineered iNK cells show antitumor activity, better survival in autonomous growth and are resistant to the suppressive TGF-β signaling.   Why it’s interesting?   ✅ These features prevent the constitutive expression of exogenous IL-15 in human iPSCs, potentially mitigating the negative effects of such cytokine on the physiological behavior and pluripotency of iPSCs.   ✅ It also improves immune functions of iNK-cells by overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME).   This strategy can apply to other iPSC-derived cell therapies, such as iPSC-derived T-cell therapies. It offers an opportunity to generate unlimited, homogeneous, and standardized cells for off-the-shelf therapies compatible with adoptive transfer in allogenic settings. You want to know more? Here is the link to the research published in Cell Reports by Cell Press: https://lnkd.in/e3vjGZqi Visual credits: NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA  

We are stronger together. This is the tagline of Odysséa Organisation, a race organized every year to support breast cancer research. On October 6, Cellectis employees in Paris decided to join the 45,000 participants running in the rain to support scientific research. We at Cellectis remain committed to finding a cure for cancer patients and strive every day to make an impact that brings us closer to a future without this disease. Thanks to all the participants, 1 million euros were collected, and 347 km were covered for breast cancer research. Let’s aim to do even more next year! ✊ #ensembleonestencoreplusfort

CAR-T cell therapy has been revolutionary in treating haematological cancers.   But it struggles with solid tumors.   Solid tumors are tough:   ❌ Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment block T cell infiltration and suppress the immune system.   ❌ Targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) in solid tumors is risky because they also appear in healthy tissues, causing "on-target, off-tumor" toxicity.   Here is the research Cellectis has developed:    🧬 TALEN-edited allogeneic CAR-T cells with an IF/THEN logic-gated system. This dual-control mechanism activates CAR-T cells only in specific tumor conditions. It boosts precision and reduces off-target effects.   🧬 In the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) model, these dual CAR-T cells reduced tumor growth and significantly increased survival. They showed robust anti-tumor activity.   ✅ Crucially, no off-target toxicity was observed in normal tissues. The mesothelin CAR is tightly regulated to be active only in the tumor microenvironment, preventing off-tumor cytotoxicity.   ✅ Our results showed significant tumor reduction where both antigens were present, with no effect on the normal tissue. This was exactly the outcome we hoped for, and we're very happy with the results.   To know more about this research, here is an excellent article written by Gorm Palmgren in CRISPR Medicine News: https://lnkd.in/dRM785V6

Roughly every 3 minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with blood cancer.   This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, we're joining the call to share information about warning signs & global efforts to fight blood cancer.   Let’s raise awareness of this devastating disease and the impact it has on patients.   #BloodCancerAwarenessMonth #BloodCancer #CellTherapy #GeneTherapy

Cellectis Presents Pre-Clinical Evidence of MUC1 CAR T-cells Reducing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer While Preserving Safety. To read the press release: https://lnkd.in/gKr42m2u #celltherapy #genetherapy

Does it make sense to treat solid tumors with CAR T-cells?   While CAR T-cell therapy has been successful for some cancers, it faces challenges in treating solid tumors.   Two main obstacles are: 🚫The tumor micro-environment (TME), including Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which hinder T-cell effectiveness. 🚫Lack of tumor-specific antigens, leading to potential harm to healthy tissues, raising safety concerns.   A proposed solution:  Using TALEN® gene editing technology to design a dual CAR T-cell with: ✅ A main CAR targeting CAFs ✅An inducible CAR activated only after CAFs recognition, targeting tumor-associated antigens named mesothelin.   The results: The SMART Dual CAR T-cells efficiently infiltrate and target solid tumors in physiologically relevant mice models, with no observable off-tumor toxicity.   This approach showed promising results in breast cancer mouse models, effectively targeting tumors without harming healthy tissues. This strategy could potentially overcome key challenges in using CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors.   Here is the link to access the full study: https://lnkd.in/eDpn_qpc ♻ Share if you liked this idea. Thoughts? Drop them in the comments ⤵

Cellectis Publishes a Molecular Therapy Article on a SMART DUAL CAR T-cell Approach for Treating Recalcitrant Solid Tumors. To read the press release: https://lnkd.in/e-U_JD6D #celltherapy #cancer

Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD): a key consideration in allogeneic cell therapies?   In the world of allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies, Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD) is our double-edged sword.   Imagine these powerful T-cells as elite mercenaries, hired to eliminate a dangerous threat - cancer.   They're incredibly effective, but there's a catch: they're foreigners in your body's landscape.   Like a mercenary force that can't distinguish between civilians and enemies, these T-cells may mistakenly attack healthy tissues, leading to GvHD.   GvHD occurs when donor immune cells recognize the recipient's tissues as foreign and attack them. This can be a serious complication in treatments using donor-derived cells.   Allogeneic CAR T cell therapies are engineered to minimize GvHD risk.   Recent advancements have dramatically reduced this risk: For example, disruption of the T-cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC) gene minimizes risk of GvHD. Current data suggests that the GvHD risk in allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy is much lower than initially feared: A study (link at the end) involved the use of an allogeneic CAR T-cell product demonstrated a manageable safety profile with no clinically significant GvHD observed. Specifically, only 2 out of the 25 patients involved in the study developed grade 1 acute cutaneous GvHD, indicating a low incidence of GvHD in the trial. While allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy still carries a risk of GvHD, ongoing research and technological advancements are making it an increasingly safe option, potentially offering the benefits of "off-the-shelf" availability without significantly compromising patient safety. What are your thoughts on the future of allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies in minimizing GvHD? Drop them in the comments ⤵ https://lnkd.in/ebzkVm4i #celltherapy #genetherapy #cancer