Technology
Born at ETH after more than one decade of dedicated interdisciplinary science
Scientific background
Cells ability to sense and respond to their environment
Cells, including immune cells, are constantly interacting with their environment, a process called mechanosensing. The cell surrounding environment is dynamic and subject to various mechanical forces, such as tissue stiffness, blood flow, shear stress, and cellular interactions, which cells sense and convert into biochemical signals. In the context of immunology, mechanosensation refers to how immune cells can detect and respond to mechanical forces within tissues and organs. In a tumor, this environment is strongly altered so that immune cells can lose their function. We are working towards equipping cells with the capacity to overcome these limitations.
Exploiting the unique mechano- sensatory stimuli for T cell activation
Cells, including immune cells, are constantly interacting with their environment, a process called mechanosensing. The cell surrounding environment is dynamic and subject to various mechanical forces, such as tissue stiffness, blood flow, shear stress, and cellular interactions, which cells sense and convert into biochemical signals. In the context of immunology, mechanosensation refers to how immune cells can detect and respond to mechanical forces within tissues and organs. In a tumor, this environment is strongly altered so that immune cells can lose their function. We are working towards equipping cells with the capacity to overcome these limitations.
Our Product
Ready-to-use cell culture dish (R&D)
Unique technology: Novel Mechanism of action
- Mechanical stimulation
Advancing production: “All in one, all at once”
Better production performance
- Major reduction of production steps
- Faster and cost saving
Our mission: Improved cell fitness and therapeutic efficacy
- Promising against solid tumors
Applications
immUni solution for personalized cellular therapies
Advanced cell therapies
Cell advanced therapies are innovative medical approaches that utilize living cells to treat diseases and medical conditions. These therapies often involve genetically modifying or manipulating cells to enhance their therapeutic potential. They encompass various techniques, including gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering, each tailored to address specific medical needs. Cell advanced therapies hold significant promise in regenerative medicine, enabling the repair, replacement, or regeneration of damaged tissues and organs. Despite their potential, extensive research and rigorous clinical trials are essential to ensure their safety and efficacy before widespread adoption in medical practice.
CAR-T cell therapies (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy)
CAR-T cell therapies are the biggest advanced cell therapeutic sector and the second biggest therapeutic area within immuno-oncology.
CAR-T cell therapy is an innovative and highly promising form of immunotherapy used to treat certain types of cancer. It involves genetically modifying a patient’s own T cells (a type of white blood cell) to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface. The CAR is designed to recognize and bind to specific proteins present on cancer cells, leading to their destruction.
CAR-T cell therapy has shown remarkable success in treating certain types of blood cancers, particularly relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Some CAR-T cell therapies have also been approved for other indications and ongoing research is exploring their potential for treating various solid tumors.
CAR-T cell unmet needs
Complex manufacturing a critical botleneck for therapeutic development
CAR-T cell therapy has transformed blood cancer treatment with promising clinical trial outcomes. However, access to this therapy has been limited due lengthy and complex CAR T cell production process, resulting in a very costly therapy. To enhance patient welfare, establishment of innovative point solutions with a simplified and shortened manufacturing processes is crucial to ensure higher cell quality and a shorter vein to vein time.
Collection of T cells
Step 1
Activation
Step 2
Genetic modification
Step 3
CAR-T cell expansion
Infusion of CAR-T cells
Production pipeline for a CAR-T cell therapy
Collection of T cells: The patient’s T cells (immune cells) are collected through a process called leukapheresis. Blood is drawn from the patient, and T cells are separated from the rest of the blood components using a specialized machine. Alternatively, new therapies using allogenic cells (not from the patient) are currently under development.
Step 1. Activation: T cell activation for CAR-T production involves stimulating T cells with specific antigens or antibodies against the T cell receptor, commonly referred to as biochemical stimulation. This activation is step crucial in order for these cells to be further genetically modified and expanded.
Step 2. Genetic modification: T cells are genetically modified to express the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface. The CAR is typically composed of an extracellular domain that targets a specific protein or antigen present on cancer cells, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular domain that activates the T cell upon binding to the target antigen.
Step 3. CAR-T cell expansion: The modified T cells are cultured and expanded in the lab, creating a large population of CAR-expressing T cells. This process usually takes a few weeks. Pre-conditioning treatment: Before the CAR-T cells are infused back into the patient, they usually undergo a conditioning regimen. This involves chemotherapy or other treatments to deplete some of the existing immune cells and create space for the infused CAR-T cells to expand and function effectively.
Infusion of CAR-T cells: Once the CAR-T cells have been expanded and the patient has undergone conditioning treatment, the CAR-T cells are infused back into the patient through an intravenous (IV) infusion.
Solution
A novel nano-engineered substrate will allow to combine and enhance key steps of the CAR-T production
From T cell activation, gene transfer to expansion. immUni platform integrates a unique combination of biochemical and physical stimulation. The biophysical activation is achieved without the need for a TCR agonist, resulting in a striking balance between robust T cell activation and proliferation as well as T cell effector function and a less differentiated phenotype required for CAR-T cell therapy. immUni technology is an easy-to-use platform that minimizes benchwork.
Cancer Patient
+125%
Robust Activation
+90%
Optimized Gene Delivery
+120%
Faster Expansion
Patient Treatment
immUni disruptive technology
immUi delivers higher yield of therapeutical effective CAR-T cells
immUni Performance
Top Competitors
Head-to-head comparison between immUni substrates and established activation methods for CAR-T production
- Benchmark results of immUni solution solely coated with aCD28-antibody against DynabeadsTM (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
- ½ activation time: shorter activation time of immUni 24 h versus 72 h with further potential to combine activation and transfection steps
- >80% increased CD69 expression after activation on immUni substrates: T cells showed high percentages of CD69 expressing cells while maintaining lower MFI values
- 90% improved gene transfer efficiency: using lentiviral transduction more CD19 CAR-positive CAR-T were obtained with immUni solution after 6 days post
- 120% higher Il-2 secretion: enhanced secretion on immUni substrates after 24 h
- 2X higher fold expansion: after 10 days and upon 24h activation only immUni substrates
- 120% more of the T cells maintain a less differentiated CCR7 positive phenotype: This outcome holds great promise for long-term tumor control.
Product Pipeline
ImmUni seeks continously to contribute to support the development of advanced therapies
Besides contributing to advance research and development in the sector of advanced cell therapies in particular CAR-T cell, we aim to further develop our own medical device for new generation of clinical point-of care treatment. The potential of immUni solution within cell advanced therapies it is not exclusive to the CAR T-cell selector, allowing us to diversify into additional cell therapeutic areas, such NK cells and B-cells, as well as contribute to improve cell therapies applied to different disease segments beyond cancer.