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Dedicated to finding new therapies
Discovering new therapies to expand treatment options for patients with cancer and degenerative diseases
Dedicated to finding new therapies
Discovering new therapies to expand treatment options for patients with cancer and degenerative diseases
Our expertise leads to new treatments that support patients fighting against serious diseases
Miltenyi dedicated decades to developing new technologies and supporting researchers worldwide in finding new cures for serious diseases. Today, Miltenyi Biomedicine is transforming these discoveries into a development program aimed at making innovative cell and gene therapies available to patients suffering from serious diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
Committed to providing patients worldwide with cutting-edge therapies to fight life-threatening diseases, we are implementing a variety of technology platforms to find the best therapeutic match and to further improve the safety and efficacy of current therapies.
Outstanding examples of Miltenyi’ s expertise in the therapeutic arena are: Immunotherapy approaches currently under study in international trials for solid tumors and hematological malignancies (for more information explore our pipeline).
Our first target: Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is among the most common blood cancers in the world, and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of NHL. Global data on DLBCL is limited, but it is estimated that, in the US alone, for example, more than 18,000 people are diagnosed with DLBCL each year.
DLBCL is an aggressive cancer due to the fast growth rate of these B cells. The incidence of DLBCL generally increases with age, and most patients diagnosed with it are over the age of 60. DLBCL may be localized or generalized depending on its location(s) in the body. Effective treatments are available, and DLBCL is considered potentially curable. However, treatment-related side effects and long-term complications are on the rise, and, unfortunately, not every patient will respond to initial treatment and some will relapse after treatment. Thus, more therapeutic options are urgently needed to meet the needs of these patients.
CAR T cell therapies have proven to be particularly effective in this situation. In fact, European Medicines Agency (EMA)-recommended and FDA-approved products are available for adults with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have had two or more unsuccessful treatments.
We believe that current immunotherapy options can still be improved. We are confident that our technologies can increase the number of patients that can be treated. In addition, our tailored dual-target approach may reduce the risk of tumor relapse as it prevents tumor escape.
References:
https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/dlbcl.html
Jaime Shaw et al. (2019) Temporal trends in treatment and survival of older adult diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma patients in the SEER-Medicare linked database, Leukemia & Lymphoma, 60:13, 3235-3243, DOI: 10.1080/10428194.2019.1623886
Fenske TS et al. Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation as Curative Therapy for Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Increasingly Successful Application to Older Patients. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2016;22(9):1543‐1551. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2016.04.019
What are Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells (CAR T cells)?
The immune system is our body’s own defense system – and T cells are specialized in recognizing and eliminating dangers. In cancer, the threat occurs within our own body (unlike a virus or bacterium that is picked up from the outside world). Because of this, our immune system is not equipped to recognize it as dangerous. So, we need to instruct our T cells to recognize the cancer cells as a danger. This can be achieved by modifying the T cells collected from the patient. These modified cells – called CAR T cells – are then infused back into the patient for treatment.
T cells recognize dangerous cells by specific structures (called antigens) present on their surface. These antigens are specific for pathogens such as bacteria- or virus-infected cells, and the T cells sense them with another structure, the T cell receptor (TCR). In figurative terms, you can think of antigens as screws of different shapes present on a cell’s surface, and the TCR as a screwdriver with a specific tip for one of them. When the TCR finds the screw that fits its tip, it attaches to it and signals the T cells that a dangerous cell has been found. The T cells then respond by killing the dangerous cell.
Since cancer cells seldom express antigens that are foreign to our own immune system, the T cells in our body cannot recognize them as dangers (i.e. we do not have the specific screwdriver with the correct tip). And that’s exactly where CAR T cell therapy comes in: supporting the patient’s immune system in the fight against the cancer by modifying the T cells so that they can recognize and destroy the cancer cells.
Today, it is possible to design a TCR – the tip of the screwdriver – in the lab, and such a TCR is known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). The CAR can then be introduced into the T cells to produce the CAR T cells that can recognize, bind to, and destroy the cancer cells.
Because this procedure introduces genetic information (CAR) into the T cells, it can be called gene therapy. In addition, the treatment is based on immune cells (specifically, T cells) and is therefore called T cell therapy.
Glossary
The body’s defense system, which can detect pathogens and render them harmless. Our immune system can differentiate between the body’s own cells and foreign cells, such as pathogens.
One of the immunotherapies, T cell therapy aims to strengthen the body’s immune system. T cells are genetically modified to specifically attack tumor cells.
This term indicates that our cells receive new genetic information that enables them to recognize and destroy tumor cells.
The T cell antigen Receptor (TCR) is a structure present on T cells. With the help of biotechnological methods, a T cell can receive a piece of new genetic information. In the case of t cells described here, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), designed in the lab, conveys the ability to recognize cancer cells.
