Engineering Immune Responses: Protein Design for the Next Era of Cancer Therapy

Dr. Jamie Spangler from Johns Hopkins University presents groundbreaking approaches to engineering proteins for cancer immunotherapy at Technology Networks' immuno-oncology event.

Spangler's research addresses the fundamental limitations of natural proteins as medicines, including their lack of precision, off-target effects, and rapid clearance from the body. Her lab employs a three-pronged strategy to redesign proteins for therapeutic use: engineering cytokines and growth factors, designing mechanism-driven antibodies, and developing discovery platforms for challenging membrane proteins.

• Cytokine reprogramming: Modified IL-2 immunocytokines that selectively activate tumor-fighting T cells while avoiding toxic side effects, showing promising results when combined with checkpoint inhibitors
• Shark-inspired antibodies: Multi-paratopic antibodies using nurse shark VNARs can simultaneously block and remove PD-L1 from tumor surfaces, offering enhanced potency over traditional approaches
• Biofloating platform: Revolutionary discovery system enables antibody development against previously challenging membrane protein targets by interfacing yeast libraries with live mammalian cells
• Clinical translation focus: Emphasis on combination therapies and industry partnerships to overcome the "valley of death" between laboratory discoveries and patient treatments