A team of researchers from Uppsala University and the Royal Institute of Technology KTH in Sweden has developed a new antibody capable of treating various types of cancer.
According to GlobalData, with this new approach, the researchers have combined three different functions within the antibody, which could enhance the effect of T cells on cancer tumors.
Antibody Helps Identify Cancer Cells
This antibody can guide the immune system to recognize and attack “neoantigens”, which are mutations and genetic changes that occur only in cancer cells.
A doctor examining a mammogram – (Photo: Reuters).
The dual mechanism of the antibody includes providing tumor-specific materials to immune cells and stimulating them to enhance the T cell response.
The potential of this method has been demonstrated in both human blood samples and animal models, according to the researchers.
Studies show that the antibody can correctly activate immune cells and prolong the lifespan of mice. At higher doses, the antibody has helped mice recover from cancer and has been assessed as safer compared to previous cancer treatments.
The research findings indicate that this method can be tailored to suit individual patients to enhance the immune system’s response against cancer.
Precision Medicine Approach for Cancer Treatment
Professor Sara Mangsbo from the Department of Pharmacy at Uppsala University stated: “We have been researching precision medicine for nearly 15 years, as well as how to use antibodies to influence a key protein (CD40) in the immune system. We can now demonstrate that this new antibody method acts as a precision medicine approach for cancer treatment.”
The next step in developing the antibody will be to utilize a fully optimized production process to produce the drug for additional safety studies, followed by initiating clinical trials in humans for cancer treatment.
Professor Johan Rockberg from the Royal Institute of Technology KTH shared: “The advantage of the drug we are researching is that it is easy to produce on a large scale and can be easily adjusted for the specific disease or tumor of the patient.”
