Clonal Neoantigen-Reactive T Cells

Achilles’ therapeutic approach is to target clonal neoantigens with a precision T cell therapy. Since every cancer has a unique set of neoantigens, this involves generating a personalized T cell product for each patient. Achilles manufactures clonal neoantigen-reactive T cells (cNeT) which are exquisitely tailored to the specific set of clonal neoantigens present in the tumor using our proprietary VELOSTM manufacturing process.

 

The starting materials for our product are T cells isolated from the patient’s tumor sample. These T cells are known as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). Prior clinical studies have shown that expanded TIL can debulk solid tumors and have demonstrated durable and potent responses. The advantage of using TIL as a starting material is that they are already programmed to invade and attack the tumor.

 

TIL that are specific for identified clonal neoantigens are isolated and selectively expanded using our VELOSTM manufacturing process. The T cells are removed from the suppressive tumor microenvironment and re-activated in the lab. The resulting cNeT have been demonstrated to be more fit and active than conventional expanded TIL products.