Developing harmonized immune platforms: a must-have for realizing personalized therapies in solid tumors

Cell & Gene Therapy Insights 2020; 6(9), 1231–1236

10.18609/cgti.2020.139

Published: 20 October 2020
Commentary
David Morrow, Jan Langermans, Anton Ussi, Antonio Andreu, Lucia Gabriele

The future of healthcare lies deeply in personalized medicine which we are all aware places the patient at the center of the therapies we develop. Advanced therapies are at the forefront of this strategy, but we are still not harnessing the true power of the data in immunology at our disposal that allow us to understand how our complex 'individual’ biological systems react to these novel therapies. The goal of CAR-T expansion into solid tumors remains elusive to our scientists with meta-analysis of solid tumor CAR-Ts tested in these tumors revealing only a mere 4.2 %complete response, for example [1]. Understanding the interplay between a cell therapy, immune checkpoint inhibition, tumor environment, and host that has critical impact on immunotherapies is paramount for the developer and clinician. It demands an integrated, harmonized characterization strategy where innovative partnerships among clinical centers, academic institutions and research infrastructures represent a key strategy. Through the development of harmonized immune platforms comprising these inter-disciplinary teams for personalized therapies in solid tumours, we can provide the optimum innovation strategy and ensure reduction in the present failure rates. Done right, this can further advance the development of these must-have therapies to the clinic for the right patients at the right time and at the right dose.