LONDON - Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has reported advancements in the development of new therapies for T cell lymphomas, a type of cancer that has historically been challenging to treat with immunotherapies. The company's research, recently published in Nature Communications, outlines the engineering of two distinct CAR T cell therapies, AUTO4 and AUTO5, which target TRBC1 and TRBC2, respectively.
T cell lymphomas differ from B cell lymphomas in that they lack suitable surface antigens for targeted immunotherapy, making treatment difficult without causing severe immunosuppression. Autolus' approach leverages the fact that T cell lymphomas are clonal and exclusively express either TRBC1 or TRBC2, while normal T cells are a mix of both. AUTO4 is designed to selectively target TRBC1-positive T cell lymphomas, potentially preserving the healthy TRBC2 T cell compartment and avoiding immunosuppression.
The company has presented early clinical data from the LibraT1 study, which investigates AUTO4 in patients with relapsed or refractory T cell lymphoma. The publication details the structural basis for AUTO4's selective recognition of TRBC1, achieved through in silico design and phage display techniques. This structure-guided approach also led to the development of AUTO5, a CAR T cell therapy specific for TRBC2.
Dr. Martin Pule, Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Autolus, hailed the development of AUTO5 as a significant achievement in structural biology and protein engineering. He emphasized the potential of these therapies to address the unmet needs in treating T cell malignancies.
Autolus is focused on creating programmed T cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, with a pipeline of candidates targeting hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases. While the company's forward-looking statements suggest optimism, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could affect the actual outcomes of their research and product development.
This advancement is based on a press release statement and represents a step forward in the field of immunotherapy for T cell malignancies. As with all clinical-stage developments, further research and successful clinical trials are necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of these treatments.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.