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UrduNY-ESO-1 TCR/IL-15 NK is being developed by Syena, an oncology-focused product company launched by Replay and MD Anderson based upon the scientific discoveries of Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation & Cellular Therapy at MD Anderson. Syena has an exclusive licensing agreement for MD Anderson’s TCR NK platform. This first-in-class engineered cell therapy is comprised of cord blood-derived natural killer cells that express an affinity-enhanced T cell receptor (TCR) targeted against the NY-ESO-1 cancer-associated antigen, which is highly immunogenic and expressed on numerous cancer cell types. The ability of NY-ESO-1 to elicit humoral and cellular immune responses, along with its restricted tissue expression, establishes it as a compelling target for cancer immunotherapy.
The Phase I/Ib study will assess the safety and efficacy of NY-ESO-1 TCR/IL-15 NK in patients with synovial sarcoma and myxoid/round cell liposarcoma. It will be administered following lymphodepletion with standard doses of fludarabine/cyclophosphamide (Flu/Cy). Approximately 44 patients will be enrolled into the study, anticipated to commence in Q3 2023.
“Syena is leveraging the scalability and allogeneic nature of engineered cord blood-derived NK cells to democratize cell therapy for cancer treatment. The recent FDA IND clearance of the first-in-human TCR NK protocol is a significant milestone for Syena,” said Adrian Woolfson, executive chairman, president and co-founder of Replay. “Syena is now one step closer to bringing its first-in-class, ‘off-the-shelf’ engineered TCR NK therapy to patients with solid tumors.”
“Following the FDA IND acceptance, Syena is Replay’s first product company to enter the clinic,” said Lachlan MacKinnon, chief executive officer and co-founder of Replay. “The ability to secure rapid FDA IND clearance for our first-in-class TCR NK program is a testament to the caliber of our team and quality of our science, and continues to validate our business model.”
“Synovial and myxoid/round cell liposarcomas express NY-ESO-1 at high levels and in a high frequency of cells, making them excellent tumor types for establishing proof of concept for the TCR NK platform,” Rezvani said . “I am delighted with the team’s progress and look forward to initiating the Phase I/Ib study later this year.”
Read the full press release on the MD Anderson newsroom.
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Disclosure
MD Anderson has an institutional conflict of interest with Replay and Syena, and MD Anderson will implement an Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan to manage these relationships.
About Replay
Replay is a genome writing company, which aims to define the future of genomic medicine through reprogramming biology by writing and delivering big DNA. The Company has assembled a toolkit of disruptive platform technologies — including a high payload capacity HSV platform, a hypoimmunogenic cell therapy platform, and a genome writing platform — to address the challenges currently limiting clinical progress and preventing genomic medicine from realizing its potential.
The Company’s hub-and-spoke business model separates technology development within Replay from therapeutic development in a portfolio of product companies that leverage its technology platforms. For example, the Company recently incorporated a first-in-class engineered TCR NK cell therapy product company using technology developed by Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Replay’s synHSV™ technology, a high payload capacity HSV vector capable of delivering up to 30 times the payload of AAV, is utilized by Replay’s four gene therapy product companies, bringing big DNA treatments to diseases affecting the skin, eye, brain, and muscle. Replay is led by a distinguished team of academics, entrepreneurs, and industry experts.
The Company raised $55 million in seed financing in July 2022 and is supported by an international syndicate of investors including: KKR, OMX Ventures, ARTIS Ventures and Lansdowne Partners.
Replay is headquartered in San Diego, California. For further information please visit www.replay.bio and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 53 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is No. 1 for cancer in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings and has been named one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer since the rankings began in 1990. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
