An accomplished entrepreneur-advisor and innovative tactician who has worked extensively in Florida, New York, California, and Boston in Massachusetts, Richard DiVenuto serves as an advisor to two Biotechnology companies. In this role, Richard DiVenuto implements and monitors corporate stock options for the board of directors and employees. His current area of focus also includes stem cell therapies for cancers and autoimmune disorders.
Chimeric antigen receptor T cells, also known as CAR T cells, are enhanced versions of T Cells with extreme capabilities to fight cancers. After the development of the first generation of these cells, additional modifications to enhance features and also mediate properly targeted response has led to the development of the second and third-generation CAR T cells. These cells have demonstrated sufficient capabilities when it comes to treating hematological malignancies that were previously thought to be incurable, which places CAR T cells in a position of significant advancement in the area of cancer immunotherapy.
Although autologous (patient's derived) T cells were the source at the initial phase of the study, this approach is costly since a special manufacturing process is often required for each patient and also significant time (weeks) is required before engineered versions of autologous T cells are ready for treatment purpose, the later which may be a serious issue in cases of acute proliferative (fast-progressing) diseases like acute leukemia.
Another problem is the fact autologous T cells may be compromised due to certain tumor-associated immunosuppression activities in some patients that render T cells dysfunctional. Other factors, such as previous lines of treatments, can also have a significant impact on T cells.
As a clever step to address the aforementioned drawbacks, "off-the-shelf" allogeneic CAR T cells are being developed and tested. Allogeneic CAR T cells are derived from healthy donors. According to the current phase of development so far, allogeneic CAR T cells have demonstrated multiple potential benefits including reduced manufacturing cost, and immediate availability.
Chimeric antigen receptor T cells, also known as CAR T cells, are enhanced versions of T Cells with extreme capabilities to fight cancers. After the development of the first generation of these cells, additional modifications to enhance features and also mediate properly targeted response has led to the development of the second and third-generation CAR T cells. These cells have demonstrated sufficient capabilities when it comes to treating hematological malignancies that were previously thought to be incurable, which places CAR T cells in a position of significant advancement in the area of cancer immunotherapy.
Although autologous (patient's derived) T cells were the source at the initial phase of the study, this approach is costly since a special manufacturing process is often required for each patient and also significant time (weeks) is required before engineered versions of autologous T cells are ready for treatment purpose, the later which may be a serious issue in cases of acute proliferative (fast-progressing) diseases like acute leukemia.
Another problem is the fact autologous T cells may be compromised due to certain tumor-associated immunosuppression activities in some patients that render T cells dysfunctional. Other factors, such as previous lines of treatments, can also have a significant impact on T cells.
As a clever step to address the aforementioned drawbacks, "off-the-shelf" allogeneic CAR T cells are being developed and tested. Allogeneic CAR T cells are derived from healthy donors. According to the current phase of development so far, allogeneic CAR T cells have demonstrated multiple potential benefits including reduced manufacturing cost, and immediate availability.
