Immunotherapy (Cytokines) | MOA Animation

Summary

Ankara Therapeutics is developing anchored immunotherapy, a novel approach to enhance the safety and efficacy of therapeutic cytokines in cancer treatment. By linking cytokines to aluminum hydroxide particles, this method ensures localized delivery at tumor sites, minimizing systemic toxicity. This targeted strategy promotes prolonged immune activation, recruiting T cells, NK cells, and myeloid cells to effectively destroy cancer cells both at the injection site and throughout the body. Ankara aims to harness the power of cytokines for more effective anti-tumor responses with fewer side effects.

Takeaways

• 💡 Cytokines are proteins that activate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
• ⚠️ Systemic administration of cytokines can lead to overactivation of the immune system, causing toxicity.
• 🏥 Direct injection of cytokines into tumors results in rapid dissipation and increased systemic side effects.
• 🔬 Ankara Therapeutics is developing anchored immunotherapy to improve cytokine safety and efficacy.
• 📍 This novel approach localizes and retains cytokines at the tumor site, minimizing systemic accumulation.
• 🧪 Ankara cytokines are linked to aluminum hydroxide particles using an engineered peptide linker.
• ⏳ Retention of cytokine complexes at the injection site leads to prolonged immune activation in tumors.
• 🛡️ The cytokine complexes recruit and activate immune cells, including T cells, NK cells, and myeloid cells.
• 🌍 This method not only targets the injected tumor but also primes the immune system for cancer elsewhere in the body.
• 🚀 Ankara Therapeutics aims to harness the power of cytokines and other immunotherapeutic drugs for targeted anti-tumor responses.

Q & A

What are therapeutic cytokines?

Therapeutic cytokines are naturally occurring proteins that activate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

What issues can arise from systemic administration of cytokines?

Systemic administration of cytokines can lead to overactivation of the immune system, resulting in significant toxicity throughout the body.

How do cytokines behave when directly injected into tumors?

When injected directly into tumors, cytokines dissipate quickly, which reduces the immune response against cancer and increases the risk of systemic side effects.

What is the novel approach developed by Ankara Therapeutics?

Ankara Therapeutics is developing anchored immunotherapy, which aims to improve the safety and efficacy of therapeutic cytokines by localizing and retaining them at the tumor site.

How does anchored immunotherapy work?

In anchored immunotherapy, cytokines are stably linked to aluminum hydroxide particles through an engineered peptide linker, allowing them to remain at the injection site and prolong immune activation.

What is the role of aluminum hydroxide in this therapy?

Aluminum hydroxide, an FDA-approved material, is used to stabilize the linkage of cytokines, enhancing their retention and effectiveness at the tumor site.

What immune cells are recruited and activated by the anchored cytokine complexes?

The anchored cytokine complexes induce recruitment and activation of immune cells including T cells, NK cells, and myeloid cells that can kill cancer cells.

What is the benefit of localizing cytokines to the tumor site?

Localizing cytokines to the tumor site minimizes systemic accumulation and toxicity while enhancing the immune response specifically against cancer cells.

How do these complexes affect the immune system's ability to target other cancer sites?

The cytokine complexes not only attack the injected tumor but also prime the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells present at other sites in the body.

What is the overall goal of Ankara Therapeutics' approach?

The overall goal is to harness the power of cytokines and other immunotherapeutic drugs to deliver targeted anti-tumor responses while minimizing side effects.