NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[jondoeuk]

oooooooooohhhhhh.... so this BATON system uses the dendritic cell to load the T cell as it is done in the body with, well, your choice of whatever antigen(s) and/or neoantigen(s)? Is that correct?

It doesn't seem a million miles from what a number of companies like ACHL are doing. They sequence tumour regions and (germline) blood samples. This is used to identify clonal neoantigens and peptides for each are manufactured. These are loaded into patient-derived dendritic cells and are co-cultured with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (which have been isolated from resected tumour fragments). Once clonal neoantigen-reactive T-cells (CD4+ and/or CD8+) have been identified, they selectively expand them.

Now to the T cell... is it still being engineered, or not?

Some are, some aren't. ACHL plan to engineer them in the future. This could allow them to drop the anti-PD-1 being used (reduces costs and toxicities, as well as is more convenient).

The DCs come from the patient's leukapheresis... is there a more natural way to "grow" a T cell?

Well, how you expand them is important. With a different process (again, looking at ACHL), they have optimised the co-culture and then add additional cytokines. This resulted in a tenfold higher median dose when compared to the first process used. It could be further improved by adding certain small molecules https://aacrjournals.org/cancerres/article/75/2/296/606443/Akt-Inhibition-Enhances-Expansion-of-Potent-Tumor