Under the partnership, AbCellera is applying its microfluidic single-cell screening platform to find novel antibodies which can be used for the development of new Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapies.
CARs are engineered targeting molecules comprised of a tumour-specific antibody linked to a T cell activating receptor.
T cells engineered to express CARs (CAR-T cells) are capable of mounting specific and highly effective immune responses against tumours; the approach shows great promise, as exemplified by the recent approvals of CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of refractory (or relapsed) B cell leukemia.
Because of the high potency of CAR-T cells, their development into successful therapies hinges on the use of highly specific antibody molecules that can target T cells to the tumour while leaving other cells unaffected.
AbCellera CEO Carl Hansen said: “CAR-T cell therapy is a breakthrough technology in the treatment of cancer. It is already saving the lives of patients and there is tremendous potential to expand its application broadly across blood cancers and solid tumours.
“We are excited to be partnering with Autolus, a leader in the development of programmed T cell therapies, to help turn this potential into a reality.”
AbCellera’s technology enables deep mining of natural immune responses by combining microfluidic single-cell screening and proprietary repertoire sequencing technology with artificial intelligence.
AbCellera’s team uses expertise in animal immunizations for any species (including humanized rodent platforms), assay design, bioinformatic analysis and visualization tools, and antibody characterization for function and developability to customize antibody discovery for every project.
This approach has proven powerful at unlocking previously inaccessible targets, including complex membrane proteins, for a wide range of therapeutic modalities.
Autolus chairman and CEO Dr Christian Itin said: “We are delighted to work with AbCellera on the identification of new targeting domains for the development of potential new CAR-T cell therapies.”
AbCellera is a privately held company that engages in partnerships to discover and develop next-generation therapeutic antibodies.
AbCellera’s single-cell platform integrates end-to-end capabilities for therapeutic antibody discovery through a unique combination of technologies including proprietary immunizations, microfluidics, high-throughput imaging, genomics, deep computation, artificial intelligence, and laboratory automation.
Ultra-deep screening of single B cells allows unprecedented access to natural immune responses, enabling rapid isolation of large and diverse panels of high-quality lead antibodies from any species, including humans.
Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer.
Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular T cell programming technologies, the company is engineering precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down their defense mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors.
Source: Company Press Release