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Treatment of hematological cancer using adoptive cell therapy

Ref. No. E-265-2011
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Keywords:  Therapeutic, cancer, adoptive cell therapy, antigen, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), CD22

Summary: 
The National Cancer Institute's Pediatric Oncology Branch is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further co-develop adoptive cell therapies for certain leukemias and lymphomas.

Technology: 
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are hybrid proteins consisting of an antibody binding fragment fused to protein signaling domains that cause some T-cells to become cytotoxic.  Once activated, these cytotoxic T-cells can selectively eliminate the cells which they recognize.  Thus, by engineering a T-cell to express a CAR that is specific for a certain cell surface protein, it is possible to selectively target cells for destruction.  This is a promising new therapeutic approach known as adoptive cell therapy.
 
CD22 is a cell surface protein that is expressed on a large number of B-cell lineage hematological cancers.  Several promising therapies are being developed which target CD22, including therapeutic antibodies and immunotoxins.  This technology concerns the use of a high affinity antibody- binding fragment to CD22 as the targeting moiety of a CAR, adding adoptive cell therapy as a new prospective treatment for certain leukemias and lymphomas.

Potential Commercial Applications:

• Treatment of diseases associated with increased or  preferential expression of CD22
• Specific diseases include hematological cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, hairy cell leukemia and pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Competitive Advantages:

• Targeted therapy decreases non-specific killing of healthy, essential cells, resulting in fewer non-specific side-effects and healthier patients
• Hematological cancers are susceptible to cytotoxic T-cells for treating because they are present in the bloodstream
• Expression of CD22 only on mature cells allows the avoidance of stem cell elimination during treatment
• High affinity of the antibody binding fragment for CD22 increases the likelihood of successful targeting

Development Stage: Pre-clinical, in vivo and in vitro data available

Patent Status:  US provisional application 61/549,516. Related technologies: US 7,355,012

Contact: Please submit an information request form at  http://techtransfer.cancer.gov or contact John D. Hewes, Ph.D. at (301) 435-3121 or hewesj@mail.nih.gov.

Last updated: 01/09/2012

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