Stem cell engineering breakthrough paves way for next-generation living drugs

Summary

UBC research associate Dr. Ross Jones in the lab where they are working to develop cell-based therapies from stem cells. Credit: Phillip Chin. For the first time, researchers at UBC have demonstrated how to reliably produce an important type of human immune cell — known as helper T cells — from stem cells in a controlled laboratory setting. The findings, published today in Cell Stem Cell, overcome a major hurdle that has limited the development, affordability and large-scale manufacturing of cell therapies. The discovery could pave the way for more accessible and effective off-the-shelf treatments for a wide range of conditions like cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and more. “This is a major step forward in our ability to develop scalable and affordable immune cell therapies.”Dr. Peter Zandstra Dr. Peter Zandstra “Engineered cell therapies are transforming modern medicine,” said co-senior author Dr. Peter Zandstra, professor and director of the UBC School of Biomedical Engineering. “This study addresses one of the biggest challenges in making these lifesaving treatments accessible to more people, showing for the first time a reliable and scalable way to grow multiple immune cell types.” The promise and challenge of living drugs In recent years, engineered cell therapies, such as CAR-T treatments for cancer, have delivered dramatic and lifesaving results for patients with otherwise untreatable disease. These therapies work by reprogramming human immune cells to recognize and attack illness, essentially turning the cells into ‘living drugs.’ Despite their tremendous promise, cell therapies remain expensive, complex to produce and inaccessible to many patients worldwide. One major reason is that most current treatments are made from a patient’s own immune cells, requiring weeks of customized manufacturing for each patient. Dr. Megan Levings “The long-term goal is to have off-the-shelf cell therapies that are manufactured ahead of time and on a larger s...