Toward clinical-scale nonviral gene-edited CAR-NK cells for cell therapy

Cell & Gene Therapy Insights 2025; 11(1), 69–84

DOI: 10.18609/cgti.2024.009

Published: 13 February
Innovator Insight
Namritha Ravinder, Krishanu Saha

Improving the accessibility and effectiveness of cell therapies is essential to meet the growing demand for cancer treatments. Engineered natural killer (NK) cells represent a promising modality, offering safety, effectiveness, and the possibility of allogeneic use. This article highlights gene editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 for enhancement of NK cell functionality, and explores nonviral transfection methods and scalable manufacturing processes. Additionally, a case study on anti-Meso3 CAR-NK cells targeting ovarian cancer cell line is explored, showcasing the enhanced efficacy of engineered CAR-NK cells for killing cancer cells and their potential for clinical scale applications.