There are several strategies in immuno-oncology to make our own immune system more sensitive and reactive against cancer cells and metastases. The Swedish biotechnology company Immunicum has developed its own strategy which they were asked to present and discuss in a panel of immuno-oncology experts at 31st Annual Cancer Progress Conference last week. BioStock contacted Immunicum's COO, Sijme Zeilemaker, who represented the company in the panel discussion, to learn more about the discussion and how Immunicum is making an impact in this area.
In cancer care, immuno-oncology (IO) has emerged as one of the most promising solutions to this deadly disease. Over the past decade, the field has generated several treatments based on the use of immune cells, e.g. adjuvant immunotherapy, T-cell therapies and checkpoint inhibitor (CPI), and has succeeded in reducing mortality in most cancers. However, the need for even better treatments remains great, and several immuno-oncology strategies are currently being developed as potential solutions to the cancer puzzle.
Different IO strategies to trick cancer
One of the main reasons why cancer is such a deadly disease is the fact that cancer cells can evade the immune system's mechanisms and spread throughout the body. IO-based treatments have become popular due to their ability to teach the immune system to be more receptive to cancer cells and thus become more reactive before the cancer takes over the body.
However, IO is a complex field where several innovative methods are being tested to teach the immune system to better fight cancer. No one yet knows which strategy or combination of strategies will lead to the best treatments, but the topic is often an important topic of debate at international oncology conferences.
One of these strategies is to develop an off-the-shelf allogeneic cell therapy that can be injected into the tumor itself and cause a chain reaction in the immune system where inflammatory molecules called chemokines and cytokines prompt killer T cells to recognize and attack the tumor cells.
Immunicum presents its IO strategy at international conference
Stockholm-based Immunicum has chosen this strategy and the company has conducted phase II clinical studies with its lead candidate, ilixadencel, in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MERECAstudy). Read more about the company's strategy and the phase II study here.
The company was invited to present at 31st Annual Cancer Progress Conference, which due to the Covid-19 pandemic was held virtually between 5 and 6 May 2020. The conference was organized by Cello Health and brought together innovators in the field from all over the world. Major oncology institutions also participated in the conference, such as Cancer Research Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting immunotherapy to treat and cure cancer and which describes immunotherapy as “the most promising treatment of our time.”
Immunicum's COO Sijme Zeilemaker participated in the conference by participating in a panel discussion entitled,Paradigm-shifting platforms I, IO: Taking IO to the next Level. He was joined on the panel by representatives of six other companies developing various IO platforms. All six companies presented their innovative strategies. See the full program and list of panelists here.
BioStock contacted Sijme Zeilemaker to find out about the panel discussion and how Immunicum's strategy is positioned within the IO area.
Sijme Zeilemaker, first of all, what does it mean to you and to Immunicum as a whole to be able to participate in a panel discussion at this cancer conference?
- It is great to be recognized as a novel platform among all the exciting developments in the highly competitive field of immuno-oncology. The unique character of our approach was central to being part of this panel of paradigm-shifting platforms, in which highly differentiated platforms that may become the future of cancer therapy shared the spotlight.
Could you summarize, in a few words, the take-home message of the panel discussion?
– Science is moving at an extraordinary pace especially in the field of IO in which the high unmet needs create this urgency of development. The overlapping message from these different platforms was that the future of cancer therapy requires a highly personalized and tumor-specific immune response induced by a more potent and broader mechanism of action. This mechanism of action should involve different classes of immune cells, preferably combined with an off-the-shelf manufacturing ability to be able to address patients across the globe in a cost-effective way. The advent of cell therapies and allogeneic platforms was crucial to this discussion.
Immunicum's main candidate, ilixadencel, is a so-called off-the-shelf allogeneic approach. In simple terms, what does that mean exactly?
- It means that this cell therapy does not derive from the patient's own cells, but can be produced from a healthy donor (thus allogeneic), and thereby in a more consistent, cost-effective and scalable manner. Specific to our mechanism of action, our cells are able to be derived from healthy donors as we activate these specific immune cells to become inflammatory dendritic cells (DCs) as the central kick-starters of immunity against the tumor. The allogeneic nature of the cells actually contributes to this mechanism, activating the patient's own immune cells as the ones to ultimately carry out a strong and sustained tumor-specific immune response.
»Ultimately, the hope of immuno-oncology is not just to delay cancer growth as with more traditional cancer therapies, but to lead to durable tumor decreases and even potential cures. Immunicum has observed this where the treatment of ilixadencel induced more durable and complete responses in its recently completed Phase II study in kidney cancer« — Sijme Zeilemaker, COO for Immunicum
How does this approach differ from some of the others presented at the panel discussion?
– The panel included approaches to enhanced tumor radiation, an allogeneic mixed cell therapy, and bispecific antibodies. Each is able to address parts of the cancer immunity cycle, ie all elements of the immune system needed to recognize and attack cancer, by for example inducing immunogenic tumor cell death, activating Natural Killer (NK) cells, or stimulating the expansion of immune cells.
- Unfortunately, cancer has established itself with multiple defense mechanisms, and only targeting one such mechanism while leaving open other pathways allows for cancer evasion and escape. Immunicum's ilixadencel primarily addresses this by focusing on a more complete mechanism of priming the immune system: by injecting inflammatory DCs in the immunosuppressive environment of the tumor and inducing a cascade of immune cells, such as NK cells, bystander DCs and killer T cells, to counteract the tumor cells.
In broader terms, how does Immunicum's approach stack up with other IO approaches being used, in terms of benefit for the patient, and why do you think the Cancer Research Institute refers to immunotherapy as “the most promising treatment of our time?”
– Our preclinical and clinical data suggest that this more complete mechanism of action is synergistic to systemic therapies such as kinase inhibitors and checkpoint inhibitors to enable the activated immune response to fully carry out its cancer-killing ability. Ultimately, the hope of immuno-oncology is not just to delay cancer growth as with more traditional cancer therapies, but to lead to durable tumor decreases and even potential cures. Immunicum has observed this where the treatment of ilixadencel induced more durable and complete responses in its recently completed Phase II study in kidney cancer.
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