Title: Immunotherapy in 2020: Beyond checkpoint inhibition and CAR T Cells

Abstract:

The word “immunotherapy” over the last 30 years translates into monospecific, single arm  immunotherapy. Evolution, however, has driven the immune system to a power full killing mechanism based specific polyclonal  and multiple arm responses. Unfortunately, cancer has been able to hide behind the secure safety mechanism that co-evolved with the immune system to prevent autoimmune disease, so it could circumvent the killing power of the immune system.
TYG oncology use the S-TIR™ technology platform for human specific active checkpoint control immunotherapy (ACCI), that allows to circumvent these safety mechanisms, in a tumour specific manner and thus safe manner.
Two prototype ACCIs for treatment of pancreatic cancer (TYG100) and breast cancer (TYG200) have so far been developed from the platform. ACCIs derived from this platform consist of 2 modules, the disease specific module, “immunogen” and the generic module, “warhead”, which directs the vaccines to CD32 on antigen presenting cells, especially pDCs and B cells. The immunogen in oncology is a tumour associated auto-antigen, against which under normal conditions no clinically relevant immune responses can be induced. We will present conclusive proof that it is finally possible to overcome all the tricks of cancer cells to prevent therapeutic immune responses. No more need for bulk infusion of very expensive and artificial treatments such as CAR-T cells or use of monoclonal antibodies, which either try to mimic tumour specific B cell responses (e.g. Herceptin and Perjeta) OR try to activate cytotoxic T cells, that by chance may also kill tumours (e.g. Opdivo, Yervoy, Keytruda). S-TIR™ ACCIs fully activate both arms of the patient’s own immune system resulting in tumour specific polyclonal IgG responses simultaneously with the generation and activation of tumour specific cytotoxic T cells. The responses are reversible and boostable, thus allowing fine-tuning of the clinical responses on a patient to patient basis. S-TIR™ vaccines in contrast to the current checkpoint inhibitors do not induce autoimmune disease and are tumours specific

Biography:

Dr. Geert C. Mudde received a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Utrecht in 1985 and started his international professional career at the Swiss Institute for Asthma and Allergy Research in Davos in 1989. In 1992 he joined the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, where he held several senior management positions at the Novartis Research Institute in Vienna, Austria, the Parke Davis Research Institute in Fresnes, France, Ingenium Pharmaceuticals, Martinsried, Germany, and at igeneon AG, Vienna, Austria. Finally, in 2006, while joining Baxter BioScience in Vienna as interim manager, Dr. Mudde co-founded the biotech company f-star Biotechnology, where he served as “Chief Scientific Officer” from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, together with Christof Langer, he started to develop the S-TIR™ technology platform for human specific therapeutic vaccines which led to the foundation of S-TARget therapeutics GmbH in 2010. Since then he serves as CSO and managing director for S-TARget therapeutics as well as for the S-TIR™ technology spin-off companies OncoQR ML GmbH and TYG oncology Ltd., which were both founded in 2013.