Immunotherapy, also known as immuno-oncology in cancer, is the result of decades of research into the mechanisms of the immune system in cancer. It has become a groundbreaking approach that has completely changed the treatment of cancer. Unlike traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, immunotherapy uses the body's immune system to find and destroy cancer cells. Immunotherapeutic drugs can be made from substances that are naturally found in the body or are completely designed in the laboratory, and are often combined with other types of cancer treatments.
Immunotherapy as a cancer treatment
Different types of cancer immunotherapy include cell therapy, immunomodulators, cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and oncolytic viruses. They all work in different ways, but they all have one thing in common: they strengthen the immune system in the fight against cancer cells. Cancer cells have ways to evade the mechanisms of the immune system, for example through genetic changes that make them less visible to the immune system, proteins on the surface of the cancer cell that turn off the immune cells, or by changing the environment around them so that the immune system reacts less to the cancer cells.
It is important to note that while immunotherapy has brought significant advances, it is not appropriate or effective for every individual or type of cancer. The decision to initiate immunotherapy is made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as cancer type, stage, and individual patient characteristics.
Elicera Therapeutics celebrates Cancer Immunotherapy Month
In June, the potential of cancer immunotherapy is being recognized worldwide, and at the forefront of this is the leading cancer research organization Cancer Research Institute (CRI) for the eleventh year this year. In addition to focusing on the form of treatment, the goal is also to increase donations to research in the field.
Globally, intensive research is being conducted in cancer immunotherapy, both by academic institutions and privately owned companies with the aim of developing new treatments. One such company, which is also celebrating the month, is the Swedish cell and gene therapy company Elicera Therapeutics. The company has four drug candidates in development; two CAR T cells (ELC-301 and ELC-401) and two oncolytic viruses (ELC-201 and ELC-100). The company has also developed a commercially available technology platform iTANK (immunoTherapies Activated with NAP for efficient Killing), which arms CAR T cells by activating a parallel immune response against cancer.
In order to reach various types of collaborations and licensing agreements for iTANK, Elicera has invested in business development this year. A major focus for the company this year is also the company's first clinical study with the CAR T-cell candidate ELC-301, who is armed with iTANK, which is planned to start in Q3 this year. The company is thus in a very exciting phase. Read more here.
CEO updates
BioStock had the opportunity to speak with Elicera Therapeutics CEO Jamal el-Mosleh, who gave his view on the potential of cancer immunotherapy and an update on what is happening in the company.
What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in the field of cancer immunotherapy when it comes to developing new treatments?
– Immunotherapy has very promising potential, but not all patients respond to this type of treatment. Understanding why some patients respond to immunotherapy, but not others, remains one of the major challenges in the field. Another major, but highly related, challenge is the complex microenvironment in the tumor, which can both inhibit the effect of immunotherapy and can make it difficult to find targets for immunotherapy that do not also damage healthy cells. This also contains some of the great opportunities with immunotherapy, which is the ability to tailor treatments to each individual patient's unique tumor profile. Another major advantage of immunotherapy is the ability to combine different types of treatments to achieve synergistic effects, for example by working with both the "gas" (activating the immune system) and the "brake" (removing the tumor's inhibitory effect on the immune system).
What differentiates Elicera Therapeutics' candidates from the cancer immunotherapies currently on the market?
– We are developing two different types of therapies in the form of oncolytic viruses and CAR T-cell treatments. It is not new in itself, but we are unique in our method of arming our therapies with immune-stimulating properties via our iTANK platform. Then you can also say that each individual candidate has their own unique profile with particular strengths and opportunities, which we have provided them with via different types of gene modifications.
What are your thoughts on the future of cancer immunotherapy and how do you see Elicera contributing?
– The field is constantly evolving and is moving quickly, even though it takes time to develop drugs all the way to market. The best targets known today for cancer immunotherapy are the patient's own mutated cancer antigens, also called neoantigens. There are already methods to identify and use neoantigens in immunotherapy and I believe that in the future we will be able to offer patients even more effectively and comprehensively tailored treatments (and combinations where necessary) based on their unique tumor profile.
– In our approach, we can “tailor” a parallel immune response via iTANK that activates the immune system against the patient’s own mutated antigens. How far this goes remains to be seen in clinical studies, but we believe that Elicera can be involved and contribute to possible combination treatments, if needed, by offering treatments that “press the gas” and activate the immune system. iTANK can be used “universally” to arm any CAR T-cell treatment, which means that we potentially have a lot to contribute here. Then, of course, we hope that our candidates will find a place in the standard treatment for the specific cancer indications we are developing them against.
What is happening in Elicera right now and what are the most important priorities going forward?
– Right now, ahead of the start of our clinical study in the fall, the GMP process is being validated for ELC-301, which is a CAR T-cell therapy developed for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma. In parallel with this, we are working on patient recruitment for the ongoing clinical study in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors with our oncolytic virus program ELC-100. In addition, we have ongoing GMP production for our other two programs ELC-201 and ELC-401, where we are working on the clinical development plans during the year. Other things that we are more or less continuously working on are different types of partner activities and securing soft financing, to the extent possible.
What do you hope Elicera will have achieved by the end of the year?
– The goals are to have completed recruiting patients for the dose escalation part of the ongoing ELC-100 study and to have begun treatment of patients with B-cell lymphoma in the ELC-301 study. In addition, my goal is to be able to inform about our plans for ELC-201 and ELC-401 around the turn of the year, where, as I said today, we do not yet have complete clinical development plans and therefore cannot comment on the capital requirements to drive these programs into the clinic. We have therefore not made a decision on whether Elicera should drive and finance these programs on its own or whether it should be done together with a possible partner who will pay for continued development.
– I also hope that by the end of the year we will have secured our first commercial collaboration agreement for iTANK. However, the time aspect of this goal cannot be guaranteed. What we see is a very difficult capital market that has “forced” many companies to seek alternative financing solutions, which in turn increases competition for licensing deals and extends the time it normally takes to secure partnerships. However, we remain optimistic about the iTANK platform and our opportunities.