Targeted chemo-immunotherapy delivery

Value Proposition

• Enhanced effect of immunotherapy
• Treatment for recurrent or metastatic disease
• Improved glioma treatment

Unmet Need

• Immunotherapy represents a new paradigm in cancer treatment. Molecules that effectively reverse the immune suppressing nature of cancer have the potential to enhance the body’s ability to work systemically combat cancer (Pardoll, 2012). While some success has been seen with therapies such as anti-PD1 and CTLA-4 blockade (Chamoto, 2020 ), the efficacy of these treatments is dampened in patients taking systemic chemotherapies (van der Most, 2005). Should these two treatment modalities be synergistically combined in a way that does not interfere with immune response, great benefit could be seen.

Technology Description

• Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a method to locally deliver traditional chemotherapeutics, so as to enhance the systemic effect of immunotherapies . By limiting the spread of chemotherapy throughout the body, this potentiates the impact of immunotherapies such as PD-1 blockade. This paves the way for a future in which patients may simultaneously benefit from both chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Stage of Development

• Proof-of-concept completed, with preclinical evidence.

Publication

Dimitrios Mathios et al. ,Anti–PD-1 antitumor immunity is enhanced by local and abrogated by systemic chemotherapy in GBM.Sci. Transl. Med.8,370ra180-370ra180(2016).