Advantages

‐ Tissue- and cell-selective functional enhancement: Reduced risk of systemic side effects due to specific drug action exclusively on engineered receptor-expressing cells.
- Reversible and flexible activity control: Precise modulation of anti-tumor activity based on inhibitor dosing and administration timing.
- High platform versatility: Broad applicability across T cells, NK cells, macrophages, and other cell therapy modalities.

Current Stage and Key Data

Proof-of-Concept (PoC) established in vitro and in vivo tumor-bearing mouse models.
‐ Dramatic increase in binding affinity: A specific A2A receptor antagonist exhibited over 100-fold higher inhibitory potency for the mutant receptor compared to the wild-type.
- Specific functional inhibition at low doses: Demonstrated specific receptor inhibition at extremely low inhibitor concentrations in the presence of physiological levels of adenosine.
- Significant in vivo tumor growth inhibition: Confirmed marked anti-tumor efficacy in engineered tumor-bearing mouse models exclusively upon low-dose inhibitor administration.

Partnaring Model

Out-licensing of patent rights related to this technology and collaborative R&D opportunities.

Background and Technology

In cancer immunotherapy, engineered immune cell therapies face significant barriers due to immunosuppressive mechanisms, such as high concentrations of adenosine, within the solid tumor microenvironment (TME). Systemic administration of conventional systemic inhibitors increases the risk of off-target toxicities, while complete gene-knockout technologies present risks of excessive immune responses and lack post-administration reversibility. This technology applies chemogenetics to solve these challenges, delivering a highly controllable cell therapy system with enhanced safety and efficacy.

Principal Investigator

Shigeki Kiyonaka (Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, THERS)

Patents and Publications

- Patent pending