Allogeneic Macrophages for Cancer Therapy

Macrophage cell therapy can become an attractive example of a cell therapy, with numerous potential applications, among them cancer therapy.

While T-cell based therapies so successful for the treatment of hematological malignancies! have yet failed to demonstrate effectiveness in the treatment of solid tumors, macrophages are a key component of the tumor microenvironment (TME), and in principle they are capable of killing solid tumor cells.

However, wildtype macrophages commonly respond to the TME by acquisition of a M2-like polarization state, in which state they rather support tumor growth and metastatic spread. This is a first problem for macrophage cell therapy against cancer.

Besides, unlike T-cells, human macrophages cannot be expanded in cell culture, resulting in insufficient numbers of obtainable macrophages and thus limiting their utility for cell therapy.We have generated genetically engineered human macrophages, which have proliferative potential, are resistent to tumor-induced repolarization and thus demonstrate oncolytic activity.

We want to translate these exciting findings into a cell-therapy against cancer.

ONCOMAC relates to the preparation for and design of a preclinical proof-of-concept study for these genetically engineered human macrophages, so that we will have a sound basis for the translation of our genetically engineered macrophages into clinical trials.

In particular, ONCOMAC will establish the numerous complex analytical procedures which are required by the European Medicine Agency's regulatory framework for First-in-human studies of an ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product).