GT Biopharma Inc (GTBP)

[GunHawk]

To overcome the cancer problem, scientists at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, have generated a bispecific killer engager (BiKE) containing single-chain scFv against CD16 and CD33. The purpose was to create a so called immunologic synapse between NK cells and CD33(+) myeloid targets.

In advancing the treatment options, these scientists have now developed a second-generation anti-CD16-IL-15-anti-CD33 TriKE, a single-chain, tri-specific NK cell engager (TriKE), which incorporated a novel modified human IL15 crosslinker, producing a novel trispecific killer engager or TriKE to induce expansion, priming, and survival. The scientists believe that this approach will enhance clinical efficacy.

The TriKE platform technology, developed by Jeffrey Miller, Deputy Director of the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota, is designed to enhance the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells. NK cells are a type of white blood cell which are an important component of the innate immune system and play a major role in the rejection of tumor and virally infected cells.