In search for a 'u­ni­ver­sal T cell en­gager', Im­muno­core inks deal with Gilead-backed Gade­ta

Im­muno­core, which be­came the first com­pa­ny to win ap­proval for a TCR ther­a­py ear­li­er this year, has penned a deal with gam­ma delta T cell spe­cial­ist Gade­ta to de­vel­op treat­ments for sol­id tu­mors, start­ing with col­orec­tal can­cer.

Im­muno­core R&D head David Berman told End­points News the deal is part of the com­pa­ny’s ef­forts to de­vel­op a “uni­ver­sal T cell en­gager.” TCR ther­a­pies made from typ­i­cal T cells, like Im­muno­core’s TCR ther­a­py Kimm­trak, are re­strict­ed to pa­tients with cer­tain HLA types, a kind of mark­er that helps the body sep­a­rate friend and foe. Kimm­trak, for in­stance, is in­di­cat­ed on­ly for pa­tients with un­re­sectable or metasta­t­ic uveal melanoma, a rare form of can­cer that hap­pens in the eye, who have the tis­sue type HLA-A*02:01, one of the more com­mon HLA types which by Berman’s es­ti­mate in­cludes around 40-50% of the pop­u­la­tion.

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