On January the 28th, 2021, the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) revealed the winners of its call for proposal “PRT-K 2020 – Translational Research Programme in Cancerology” INCa-DGOS : see results page (in French).
The project entitled “Generation of non-genetically modified CAR-NK cells” and coordinated by Martin Villalba (INSERM U1183, Montpellier) and Guillaume Cartron (Montpellier university hospital), was awarded funding.
A clinical trial showed that CAR-NK cells are a less toxic alternative to CAR-T cells, although they both share the drawback of being Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). NK cells mediate antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) and are used in allogeneic settings. We have patented a technique to produce expanded NK (eNK). eNK can be “armed” with selected monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to recognize specific antigens thanks to our new technology called NoCar. NoCar-modified eNK (NC-eNK) retain the exquisite selectivity of mAbs to lyse selected target cells. We expect to show that we can modify the selectivity of a cytotoxic lymphocyte, i.e. NK, without genetic modifications, and that this could lead to a clinical protocol.
Project abstract