Abstract 2749: iPSC-derived natural killer cells as the front-runner program of the EVOcells Oncology platform: From inception to translational validation using patient samples
Authors: Esquerré Michael , Holtzinger Audrey , Pichery Mélanie , Pfaender Stefanie , Yumlu Saniye , Richter Mandy , Betous Delphine , Bombarde Oriane , Gador Mylène , Sailer Nadja , Paillasse Michael , Ysebaert Loïc , Despas Fabien , Austen Matthias , Scheel Andreas , Dangl Markus 
Published: June 2022

Cancer immunotherapy has transformed the oncology landscape and shown promising therapeutic results in the clinic but it is also clearly facing multiple limitations. So far, the focus of immunotherapies has mainly been on the modulation of T-cells. Natural killer (NK) cells offer promising perspectives for immunotherapies as they directly kill tumor cells and produce pro-inflammatory cytokines to activate and recruit T-cells and other immune cells. Thus, NK cells are considered key players in the anti-tumor immune response that can make a “cold” tumor “hot”. However, in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of cancer patients, the low numbers of NK cells present and their exhaustion due to local immunosuppression often limit tumor cell killing. The development of NK based cell therapy products can overcome these limitations, either as single therapy or in combination with biologics such as e.g. NK cell engagers or monoclonal antibodies for boosting ADCC (antibody dependent cell cytotoxicity). To overcome the main hurdle of current autologous cell therapies, the EVOcells Oncology platform aims at developing a streamlined manufacturing process for iPSC-derived immune effector cells. The goal is to develop “off-the-shelf” cell therapy products for clinical use in large patient populations. We are currently establishing a multi-asset portfolio combining multiple immune effector cell types with different genetic editing strategies that serve to optimize this approach further. iPSC-derived NK cells (iNK cells) offer an attractive option for improving both therapeutic efficacy and safety of CAR cell therapies. Our robust, feeder-free production protocol produces iNK cells that can be reliably frozen with good recovery rates. We have generated multiple genetically modified iNK cells and have validated that the genetic modifications boost iNK function. At the end of the production process, iNK cells show phenotypic properties and single cell RNA sequencing profiles comparable to blood-derived NK cells. Importantly, iNK cells are fully functional with the ability to produce key pro-inflammatory cytokines and to form lytic immunological synapses leading to efficient killing of cancer cell lines. In addition to the killing of established tumor cell lines, we also evaluated the ability of iNK cells to kill primary leukemia cells ex vivo by using blood samples from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. In combination with a standard of care anti-CD20 antibody, iNK cells demonstrated the ability to kill primary leukemia cells via ADCC. Taken together, these promising results obtained with iNK cells show the potential of the EVOcells Oncology platform to deliver the next generation of cell therapies in oncology paving the way to develop a portfolio of iPSC-derived immune effector cells.

Citation Format: Michael Esquerré, Audrey Holtzinger, Mélanie Pichery, Stefanie Pfaender, Saniye Yumlu, Mandy Richter, Delphine Betous, Oriane Bombarde, Mylène Gador, Nadja Sailer, Michael Paillasse, Loïc Ysebaert, Fabien Despas, Matthias Austen, Andreas Scheel, Markus Dangl. iPSC-derived natural killer cells as the front-runner program of the EVOcells Oncology platform: From inception to translational validation using patient samples [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2749.