News
May 4, 2021
Obsidian Therapeutics To Present Preclinical Data From cytoTIL15 Program at the 24th American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Meeting
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 4, 2021 – Obsidian Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies, today announced that the Company will present at the upcoming 24th American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting, which will be hosted virtually May 11-14, 2021.
The abstract for the poster describes how Obsidian’s cytoTIL15 product (cytoTIL™ therapy engineered with mbIL15) demonstrates enhanced in vivo performance in the absence of IL-2, paving the way for more durable efficacy and improved safety in patients with solid tumor malignancies, and has been published in Molecular Therapy.
Details of the poster:
Title: cytoTIL™ therapy engineered with mbIL15 demonstrates enhanced in vivo persistence in the absence of IL-2, paving the way for durable efficacy and improved safety in patients with solid tumor malignancies
Abstract Number: 617
Session: Cancer – Immunotherapy, Cancer Vaccines
Session Date and Time: Tuesday May 11, 2021 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Abstract Summary: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have generated promising data in clinical trials as therapy for heavily pretreated patients with solid tumor malignancies, such as metastatic melanoma. The IL-2 regimen required for in vivo maintenance of TILs poses significant limitations on application of the therapy. Obsidian’s cytoTIL™ product is comprised of TILs engineered with membrane bound IL-15 (mbIL15) that is regulatable using a drug responsive domain (DRD) designed via our cytoDRiVE™ platform. cytoTILs demonstrate enhanced persistence in mice without IL2 compared to conventional TILs with IL2.
Paul Wotton, Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian, commented, “We expect that cytoTIL15 will pave the way for a more potent and persistent TIL product that will not require infusion of IL-2, thereby improving durable efficacy and expanding the pool of eligible patients with metastatic melanoma and other solid tumor malignancies that can be treated with this groundbreaking therapy.”
About Obsidian Therapeutics
Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients with intractable diseases. The Company expects to submit an IND in mid-2022 for its lead cytoTIL™ program, a novel engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocyte therapy armored with regulated membrane-bound IL15 that does not require patients to receive toxic IL2 which is a significant limitation for broader adoption of TIL therapy. Obsidian’s proprietary cytoDRiVE® technology provides a way to control protein degradation using FDA-approved small molecules, permitting precise control of the timing and level of protein expression. Obsidian is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. The Company has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. For more information, please visit www.obsidiantx.com.
Media Contact:
Maggie Beller
Russo Partners, LLC
Maggie.beller@russopartnersllc.com
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