Therapy Areas: Autoimmune
SQZ Biotechnologies Presents Preclinical SQZ TIL Data Supporting Potential Ability of mRNA-Driven IL-2 and IL-12 Expression to Eliminate Need for Toxic Preconditioning and Systemic IL-2 Administration for Certain T Cell Therapies
13 September 2022 - - US-based cell therapies developer SQZ Biotechnologies Company (NYSE: SQZ) has presented preclinical data supporting that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes engineered with membrane-bound cytokines IL-2 (mbIL-2) and IL-12 (mbIL-12) may eliminate the need for the high-dose, systemic IL-2 and lymphodepleting preconditioning used with current TIL therapies, the company said.

SQZ TILs showed the ability to induce desirable cytokine signaling for more than 48 hours, which is comparable to the duration of exogenous IL-2 support in current TIL therapies.

SQZ TILs also demonstrated improved killing of donor-matched tumor cells, upregulated markers associated with central memory T cells, and persistence in vivo.

The data was presented TODAY at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2022.

The SQZ TIL platform draws from the company's mbIL-2 and mbIL-12 constructs used in its enhanced Antigen Presenting Cell clinical trial.

Both approaches are designed to take advantage of transient expression of membrane-bound cytokines so that potent cytokines such as IL-12 can be expressed without systemic toxicities.

Additional TIL engineering with membrane-bound IL-7 (mbIL-7) and BCL-2, an anti-apoptotic factor, may further enhance the abilities of SQZ TILs to engraft without preconditioning.

SQZ Biotechnologies is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the full potential of cell therapies to benefit patients with cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases.
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