NextGenNK - Newsletter 2/2020

Letter from the Director

NextGenNK is a Vinnova (Sweden’s Innovation Agency) funded Competence Center for the developent of next-generation NK cell-based cancer immunotherapies. The Competence Center is coordinated by Karolinska Institutet (KI, Coordinator) and involves collaborations between KI, the Karolinska University Hospital, and several national as well as international SME and Pharma Partners.

In 2020, we have witnessed remarkable developments in the field of cell-mediated immunotherapies, despite the ongoing pandemic. We continue to notice how cancer immunotherapy remarkably changes the current paradigms of treatment. At the present stage, NK cells are rapidly advancing to the forefront of new cell-based cancer immunotherapies. It is in this context that NextGenNK operates. A striking feature in the field is how achievements are made through collaborations between academic, health care, and industrial Partners.

In recent months only, we have witnessed several established NK cell centric companies forming different forms of alliances with larger Pharma. New NK cell-based companies are emerging on the global market on almost a monthly basis. In Sweden, we witness the dynamic development companies in the field, including XNK Therapeutics, a Stockholm-based NK cell-focused SME, and a NextGenNK Partner.

The Competence Center has, during its first year in operation, fostered several research and development interactions among the Coordinator and Partners, as well as among the Partners, to drive the development of next-generation NK cell-based therapies. With respect to outreach activities, the Competence Center’s Directors have played an active role at the Innate Killer Summit in San Diego in September 2020 and at the Allogeneic Cell Therapies Summit in Boston in October. In October 2020, NextGenNK also held its first Partners symposium.

Finally, among the Executive Board’s activities during the first year has been the appointment of a Scientific Advisory Board and a strategy for including additional new Partners to the Competence Center. The latter responds to the considerable interest expressed by new industrial partners in joining the Competence Center.

All in all, despite being affected by the global Covid-19 situation, 2020 has been a very active year for NextGenNK. If anything, we expect and look forward to an even more active year next year.

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren

Photo: Ulf Sirborn

Spotlight – Alligator Bioscience

Photo: Peter Holgersson

Under the heading "Spotlight," we present Partners involved in the NextGenNK Competence Center. Alligator Bioscience develops antibody-based pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. The company specializes in developing tumor-directed immunotherapies, particularly agonistic mono- and bispecific antibodies. The company is active in the early stages of drug development, from idea to clinical phase II studies. An exciting future possibility is to combine immune-stimulatory antibodies with NK cell-based immunotherapies.

Communication

To facilitate outreach and communication, the Competence Center is using its home page, and is initiating other rapid communication platforms. The home page contains information about NextGenNK, press releases, info on the management team, Partners, Executive Board (including protocols), contact information, newsletters, and a news archive. It also contains information on upcoming events and news.

Research and Development

Research and development strategies focus on increasing potency and tumor targeting by next generation NK cell-based immunotherapies. NextGenNK is in active collaborations with industrial partners and health care to develop new clinical trials, including allogeneic and autologous NK cell-based clinical trials. One prime research focus is strategies to generate universal NK cells obviating the need for immunosuppressive drugs in contexts of allogeneic cell therapies.

The vision of the NextGenNK Competence Center is to transform tomorrow’s means of treating cancer by innovative and affordable NK cell-based immunotherapies developed in collaboration with SME/industry and health care, and thereby, contribute towards making Sweden one of the global leaders in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Novel immunotherapies have the potential to transform current medical practice, with the intent to treat, manage, and potentially cure some of the most debilitating and costly diseases. As such, we aim to contribute to the development of a new strong segment in the Swedish Life Science Industry.

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