Antion Biosciences announces development of safety-enhanced and off-the-shelf CAR T-cells for autoimmune disease
May 22 2024 - 6:55AM
Antion Biosciences announces development of safety-enhanced and
off-the-shelf CAR T-cells for autoimmune disease
Antion Biosciences (Antion), a Geneva-based cell and gene therapy
company developing “off-the-shelf” cell therapies, announces the
development of next generation anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor
(CAR) T-cells for B-cell driven autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmunity affects up to 10% of the global
population, and the overall burden of care is believed to
well-exceed US $120 billion per annum. Recent findings indicate
that targeted CAR T-cell therapy is very effective in severe cases
of autoimmune disease. According to pioneer, Prof. Dr. Georg
Schett, one of Time Magazines Most Influential People in Health,
“Not only are the patients in drug-free remission, but I believe
many are cured of their autoimmune disease.” The findings have
sparked the interest of numerous groups, including the likes of
Novartis to pursue the opportunity.
Dr. Marco Alessandrini, PhD, CEO of Antion,
believes this signals a paradigm shift in the way autoimmune
disease will be treated in future, offering unique opportunities to
create life-transforming therapies for millions. “Our approach is
to anticipate the future need and develop a product that will stand
the test of time.”
Antion’s “miCAR19” is a multiplex engineered
therapeutic, designed to address key constraints of existing
products in development. First and foremost, it addresses the
question of patient safety. Chemotherapeutic pre-conditioning is
the status quo for all CAR T-cell products in oncology; but this is
not desirable, and in most cases unacceptable, for treating
patients with autoimmune disease. Antion’s safety-enhanced product
is gene engineered to circumvent the need for pre-conditioning,
while also mitigating further hyperinflammatory risks. Being an
allogenic product, it not only enables off-the-shelf provision, but
also facilitates scaled manufacturing to meet the global demand for
this potentially curative therapy.
“This is the start of a new chapter in Antion.
Our technology platform has shown its worth in our hands and in the
hands of our partners, so I’m convinced we will develop a robust
product. Progressing it to clinic as rapidly as possible is our
number one priority,” noted Dr. Alessandrini.
About Antion BiosciencesAntion
Biosciences SA is a Swiss-based biotechnology company developing
cell and gene therapy products for the treatment of diseases with
significant unmet medical needs. Antion’s proprietary technology
platform allows for a modular and tunable approach to multiplex
engineering of therapeutic cells. Through development of
off-the-shelf and immune privileged products, our vision is to
broaden access to these life-changing therapies for all patients.
For more information, please visit https://www.antionbio.com.
Antion's Cautionary Note on
Forward-Looking StatementsPlease note: This announcement
can contain forward-looking statements based on current
expectations and projections about future events. Actual results
may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but
not limited to, market conditions, industry trends, and operational
risks.
Antion Biosciences
Contactmedia@antionbio.comAntion Biosciences SAChemin des
Aulx 12, CTN121228 Plan-les-OuatesGenevaSwitzerland