APRIL 2023LIFE SCIENCES REVIEW9malignancies like lymphoma and multiple myeloma, these molecules have been quite successful, with the majority of treated patients showing significant tumor shrinkage. But in common solid tumors like prostate cancer, results have been decidedly mixed as there these drugs are not quite ready for prime time. We do have some good ideas on how to increase activity, since T cells need two signals for full activation and we're working hard to generate drugs that will provide that second signal, which may be critical. Would you like to share about your current cancer immunotherapy project?One super-exciting area of interest involves cancer vaccines, which have a checkered history to say the least. Most of the prior studies focused on shared tumor targets, i.e. antigens that are expressed in both normal tissue and in cancer. Instead, we're leveraging advanced computational algorithms to discover targets expressed only in the tumor; these targets are the products of disordered RNA splicing in many cancers and are known as "dark matter". In addition to targeting novel antigens, we're also planning to use a state-of-the-art vaccine strategy, involving two different vaccine types for a prime and a boost, in combination with an immune checkpoint blocker. Definitely an innovative approach!How do you envision the future of cancer immunotherapy?Well, the future is hard to predict. About 10 years ago most of us would have predicted that combining immune checkpoint blockade (like anti-PD-1) with other agents would be a home run. Clearly that's not been the case. Currently, cell therapies continue to take center stage for hematological cancers, but it's not clear if that can translate to common solid tumors like prostate cancer and breast cancer. While we're working hard on that, it's important to keep in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day, that is it will likely take a number of iterations in the clinic before we get it right. But we recognize that patients are waiting, so we're a team that never settles in recognizing this massive unmet need. What would be your single piece of advice to an aspiring professional in your field?Sometimes I find scientists coming into the industry are looking at animal data becoming deeply impressed and believing wholeheartedly that those results will translate precisely in clinical trials. That's just not the case. Our collective experience is that many drugs/combinations work really well in animal models but only moderately so in humans. Sure, well-done studies in mice can teach us a lot about mechanism and combinations, but it's a mistake to make the leap that things will be the same in patients. The goal, then, should be got get those promising combinations and agents into patients as soon as we can; that's the only way we're going to eliminate cancer in our lifetime. We are advancing combinations that we believe will be effective in activating the immune system in a way that leads to long-term remissions for patients with cancer
< Page 8 | Page 10 >