Andrew Weinberg
In recent years we have been defining T cell populations within the blood and tumor of cancer patients to determine potential protein/pathways that could specifically target TIL therapeutically. Our initial publication compared T cells from patients with colorectal liver metastatses and ovarian cancer. We found several differences in the phenotype of CD8s, CD4s, and Tregs between the TIL and blood that were consistent between these two different types of tumors. This suggested to us that two distinct tumor types were behaving very similar immunologically, hence one could potentially target them with the same immunotherapy agents (e.g. PD-1 blockade works for several different tumor types). With this in mind we have found several new protein targets that we are exploring as therapeutic targets preclinically with this approach. Upon further inspection with other tumor types and a deeper dive into the CD8 phenotype in tumors vs blood we discovered a unique CD8 T cell population that express both CD39 and CD103. These T cells were only found in tumors and were highly enriched for tumor-reactivity. The CD39/103 double CD8 TIL had both an activated and exhausted phenotype, suggesting that they had recently encountered the tumor Ag in situ. Another unique finding was the highly clonal nature of these CD8 TIL when assessed directly ex vivo and these clones were found at very low frequency in the blood of cancer patients. The data suggested that these cells make it into the tumor microenvironment and expand when they encounter their tumor Ag; however, chronic activation in the tumor might lead to exhaustion of this CD8 TIL population. We have now been able to rescue/grow these cells in vitro and expand them from thousands of cells to billions in a 4-week span. We have found that they can kill autologous tumors in vitro and make autologous tumors completely regress in tumor-bearing mice. This data has set the stage for an adoptive T cell therapy clinical trial and will be performed with this tumor-reactive T cell population. Our group has had a pre-IND discussion with the FDA earlier this year and are currently performing 3 qualifying runs, which should be completed by Jan 2022. We intend to submit the IND for this clinical trial in early 2022 and commence with the trial soon thereafter.
Rem Koning
Kiki Freedman
Nada Hanafi MSc, MPH
Wei Escala
Wei Escala is the founder and CEO of Eggschain, a healthcare technology company built at the intersection of reproductive medicine, technology innovation, scientific research and humanity. A thought leader in the health tech, family building and cryogenic preservation industries, Ms. Escala holds the patent for the first blockchain-integrated inventory management and chain of custody technology for tracking bio specimens, including sperm, eggs, embryos, DNA, RNA, genome, stem cell, tissues and organs, and other genetic material. As Eggschain CEO, she has built an all-star team of collaborators comprising technologists, business leaders, physicians and scientists, with a focus on continuing to develop game-changing innovation for patients, doctors, clinics and labs through the Eggschain platform.
A software engineer by training, Ms. Escala has built a career across the organizational spectrum, from Marketing and Brand Management to Software Leadership. Prior to Eggschain, Ms. Escala held executive roles at such Fortune 500 companies as Procter & Gamble, Frito Lay, Valvoline and Kraft Foods, where she managed P&Ls of up to 300 million USD. She is passionate about women’s health and the opportunity to enable security, transparency and peace of mind for people and families, enabling better decision making and helping advance humanity.
Derek Sham
Derek has 15+ years experience in medical devices R&D and commercialization in urology, gynecology, gastroenterology and cardiology. He is a General Manager with a successful PE-backed exit in urological diagnostics in 2016 and was inspired to launch Cosm as a result of his grandmother's health.
Kat Holmes
Kostas Papadopoulos
