LIfT BioSciences N-LIfT Cell Therapy Successfully Infiltrates Pancreatic Tumours In-vivo

London ­– LIfT BioSciences, a biotech company developing a first in class innate cell therapy with the potential to destroy all solid tumours, irrespective of strain or mutation today announced that their flagship cell therapy, N-LIfT, has demonstrated migration to the human pancreatic tumour site, successfully infiltrating the orthotopically grown tumour in nude mice.
The tumour was grown over two weeks before mice were given a single dose of two billion N-LIfT cells via the tail-vein.
Pancreatic cancer is among the most difficult to treat, with five-year survival rates of under 5% in most countries. In 2020 alone, nearly half a million people have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the vast majority are unlikely to survive for a full year. Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late and the site of the tumour is difficult to infiltrate because it is surrounded by a network of non-malignant cells that act as a protective barrier. Infiltrating the tumour is, therefore, difficult for traditional and novel therapies alike.

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR -T), which are genetically engineered to express a receptor that recognizes a specific antigen, have been proven successful in treating haematological malignancies. However, there is little evidence that those cells can successfully treat solid tumours and, particularly, pancreatic cancer.

“CAR T’s rely on being pre-programmed to find and destroy cells with a specific marker on their surface, however, this approach has not been very successful in treating solid tumours” said Alex Blyth, CEO of LIfT BioSciences. “Unlike cancers such as leukaemia or lymphoma in which the tumour cells universally express the B-cell marker CD19, solid tumours rarely express one specific antigen. They tend to display a large degree of antigen heterogeneity and they are constantly mutating. Targeting a few antigens is like developing a few keys when there are many ever changing locks.”

Patrick Burgermeister, Partner at Kizoo Technology Capital commented: “LIfT deliberately avoids targeting specific molecules and engages the innate immune system against cancer. We consider this a highly promising approach against a disease that constantly mutates and, hence, presents a ‘moving target’. We are proud to be investors in this approach that is potentially efficacious across most cancer types.”