Post-Conference Focus Days: Friday, September 20

Choose Your Focus Day Here:

Full Tackling Solid Tumors Focus Day Agenda:

Advancing Armoring Strategies to Boost Persistence in the Solid Tumor Microenvironment

8:55 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

9:00 am Armoring Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) with Membrane-Bound IL-15 Improves T-Cell Phenotype & Enhances Persistence in Melanoma

Synopsis

  • OBX-115 engineered TIL therapy utilizes the cytoDRiVE® platform to enable regulation of membrane-bound IL15 (mbIL15) using a drug-responsive domain (DRD), obviating the need for IL2 administration
  • mbIL15 selectively expands CD8+ T-cells with no IL2-like toxicity and reduced exhaustion, while supporting antitumor activity and persistence, and can re-activate expansion of persistent antigen-experienced OBX-115 TIL
  • OBX-115 TIL have produced a 50% response rate in a first-in-human study, including two complete responses, without any dose-limiting toxicities 

9:30 am Epigenetically Encoding Functional Persistence in T-Cells

  • Nayan Jain Research Associate, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Synopsis

  • TET2 loss uncouples proliferation and effector function in CAR-T cells
  • SUV39H1 disruption promotes functional persistence of CAR-T cells
  • Contrast the differences in TET2 and SUV39H1 deficient CAR T cells

10:00 am Morning Break & Networking

11:00 am Affini-T Platform Technologies Enable the Generation of Potent & Tolerable TCR-T Cells

  • Gary Shapiro Vice President Discovery Biology, Affini-T Therapeutics

Synopsis

  •  TAILOR TCR discovery platform uses predictive algorithms to identify highly functional and specific TCRs against diverse targets
  • TUNE Synthetic Biology platform programs cell persistence in the TME to enhance durability with switch receptors, co-receptor, and other armoring technologies
  • THRIVE Engineering and Manufacturing platform allows for scalable manufacturing with gene editing technologies to generate a robust engineered product with > 95% central memory/stemness phenotype

Harnessing Cell Type to Mediate Solid Tumor Infiltration

11:30 am Employing Innate Cells to Promote Infiltration of Solid Tumors

Synopsis

  • Engineering macrophage cells to express a CAR or TCR to specifically target and kill tumor cells
  • Harnessing macrophages to maximize potency without co-stimulation
  • Overcoming manufacturing challenges to ensure scalable production

12:00 pm Lunch Break & Networking

1:00 pm Engineering TIL to Thrive in Hard-to-Treat Solid Tumors Using CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing

Synopsis

  • Harnessing the advantages of polyclonal TIL products to elicit anti-tumor responses
  • Rational design of engineered TIL, or eTIL, boosts anti-tumor potency and persistence
  • eTIL may improve the overall patient experience with TIL therapy

Potentiating Targeting Ability through Novel Combination Approaches

1:30 pm Leveraging Viral Immunotherapies to Potentiate CAR-T Response through Combination Therapy

Synopsis

  • Developing a novel viral immunotherapy platform to overcome the barriers to cell therapy efficacy
  • Leveraging intratumoral delivery to boost CAR-T efficacy in solid tumors

2:00 pm Afternoon Break & Networking

2:30 pm Panel Discussion: Combining Cell Therapies with Synergistic Treatments to Prevent Antigen Escape

Synopsis

  • Uncovering combination assets to synergize cell therapies and potentiate anti-tumor response
  • Mitigating against combinatorial toxicities to promote safe tumor regression

3:00 pm CellPryme Is a Novel Agent That Improves Cell Phenotype, Improves Tumor Control & Overcomes Immunosuppressive TME

  • Mariam Mansour Senior Director Clinical development and Translational sciences, Prescient Therapeutics Pty Ltd

Synopsis

  • CellPryme is a small molecule with up to Phase II clinical experience
  • A single exposure of CellPryme during CAR-T expansion significantly increases memory phenotype resulting in exhaustion resistant cells with improved persistence, tumor trafficking/penetrance, and tumor/cell killing
  • Combining CellPryme with conventional CAR-T therapy increases CAR-T cell proliferation and overcomes the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment to improve CAR-T performance

Full Automation & Manufacturing Technology Focus Day Agenda:

Automating Manufacturing Processes to Reduce Costs & Transform Efficiency

8:55 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

  • Ali Mohamed Senior Vice President - Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls, Immatics GmbH

9:00 am Wholistic Automation: Integrating Process, Analytical & Digital Automation into Cell Therapy Manufacturing

Synopsis

  • Integrating multiple manufacturing devices from various stages to create an end-to-end process
  • Utilizing this process to improve robustness of production, reduce failure rates and decrease cost of goods

9:30 am Leveraging Modular Automation to Minimize Error while Maintaining Flexibility

  • Raymond Luke Director & Head of Manufacturing Science, Technology, Chemistry, Manufacturing, & Controls, Verismo Therapeutics

Synopsis

  • Reducing manual input and operator variability to improve product consistency and quality while preventing handler error
  • Improving process comparability through automated systems to increase reproducibility 
  • Harnessing closed systems to prevent contamination and batch loss 

10:00 am Morning Break & Networking

11:00 am Panel Discussion: Evaluating Technologies to Boost Productivity, Minimize Error & Reduce Costs

  • Fabio Fachin Executive Director - Cell Therapy, Takeda
  • Raymond Luke Director & Head of Manufacturing Science, Technology, Chemistry, Manufacturing, & Controls, Verismo Therapeutics
  • Lilly Wollman Chief Executive Officer, Synteny

Synopsis

  • Discussing how automated technologies can improve product quality and consistency
  • Evaluating when to implement automation to optimize cost and long-term benefit
  • Reviewing how to create flexible manufacturing processes to facilitate implementation

12:00 pm Lunch Break & Networking

Facilitating Technology Implementation to Enable Smooth Integration

1:00 pm Round Table Discussion: Let’s Plug & Play: Streamlining Integration of Automation & Novel Technologies into Manufacturing Processes to Achieve Operational Excellence

  • Ali Mohamed Senior Vice President - Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls, Immatics GmbH

Synopsis

  • Assessing if the equipment is suitable for the manufacturing of the type of product as well as scale needed
  • Determining whether equipment is compatible with technical processes including manufacturing facility to facilitate integration
  • Reviewing how to train personnel to operate automated systems to ensure optimal efficiency and smooth operation

2:00 pm Afternoon Break & Networking

Harnessing Technology & Instrumentation to Facilitate Scale-Up

Employing Bioreactors to Produce Large-Scale T-Cell Products

  • Bassem Gayed Senior Director - Technical Process Engineering CAR-T Manufacturing Science and Technology, Celgene

Synopsis

  • Optimizing GMP media production utilizing automation
  • Improving efficiency of current manufacturing systems to accelerate production and reduce error
  • Increasing production efficiency to promote manufacturing scale-up and capacity increase

Enabling Analytical Instrumentation & Automation to Aid Comparability & Scale-Up

3:00 pm Leveraging Instrumentation to Accelerate Release Testing & Minimize Human Input

Synopsis

  • Appreciating the analytical challenges faced to identify opportunities for technology implementation to optimize controls and characterization
  • Examining how requirements evolve throughout clinical trials to optimize analytical strategy 

3:30 pm End of Focus Days