GC Biopharma said on the 17th it will jointly develop an in vivo CAR-T cell therapy with AbClon. With a single shot, it can reprogram immune cells in a patient's body and treat cancer, earning the nickname "dream anticancer drug."
CAR-T therapy treats cancer using T cells, a type of immune cell. It involves taking T cells out of the patient, engineering them to recognize cancer cells, and reinfusing them. The T cells circulate throughout the body, find cancer cells, and attack them. However, CAR-T therapy takes a long time to manufacture, has a high expense, and is limited to hospitals with specialized facilities.
In vivo CAR-T therapy enables a patient's body to generate CAR-T cells on its own. When messenger RNA (mRNA) carrying genetic information is delivered by injection to T cells in the patient's body, they autonomously produce CAR-T cells and attack cancer cells. It does not require extracting the patient's T cells, editing them outside the body, and reinfusing them. Same-day administration is possible.
The two companies will jointly develop an in vivo CAR-T platform targeting blood cancers and more. They will identify drug candidates and conduct preclinical and clinical studies. Jeong Jae-uk, head of research and development at GC Biopharma, said, "We will deliver innovation that overcomes the limits of existing CAR-T therapies." Lee Jong-seo, CEO of AbClon, said, "In vivo CAR-T is a technology that will change the paradigm of cell therapy."