“Kick-and-Kill” Strategy Pursues HIV Cure

California-based ImmunityBio, Inc. announced promising phase 1 clinical study results that demonstrate the activation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells in people living with HIV by ImmunityBio's IL-15 superagonist Anktiva (N-803).
Anktiva stimulates latent HIV replication (the 'kick') in CD4 memory cells allowing the previously hidden infected cells to be revealed to and eliminated (the 'kill') by CD8 and NK cells.
This mechanism is key for killing cells that harbor the latent virus, thereby reducing viral reservoirs in antiretroviral (ART)-suppressed HIV patients and ultimately ridding the body of the virus and the threat of re-activation.
'These data suggest that N-803 administration in ART-suppressed people living with HIV is safe and that larger clinical trials are needed to further investigate the effects of N-803 on HIV reservoirs,' wrote these researchers.
These positive clinical findings confirmed on January 31, 2022, support ImmunityBio's "Kick-and-Kill" strategy to cure HIV.
However, as of February 2022, there is no cure for HIV infection, confirms the U.S. CDC.
"Today, 38 million people are living with HIV in every corner of the world, and most of them depend on a daily cocktail of antiretroviral drugs to keep the virus at bay. These can cost thousands of dollars a month, a huge cost in wealthy countries and unaffordable for people in poorer nations," commented Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Executive Chairman and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at ImmunityBio, in a press release.
"This study is one of several ImmunityBio is undertaking to validate the potential role of Anktiva in activating the innate (NK) and adaptive (T cell) immune system to attack and kill cancerous or virus-infected cells."
"In this case, the target is HIV, and our ultimate goal is to develop our immunotherapy platforms of IL15 fusion proteins combined with NK cell therapy as a therapeutic approach to rid the body of the virus for good and eliminate the need for antiretroviral therapy."
"The company is pursuing multiple studies in patients with HIV in hopes of meeting this goal of curing the disease."
The study was conducted by Timothy W. Schacker, M.D., a leading HIV researcher and Vice Dean for research at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and the results were published in Nature Medicine.
ImmunityBio is a leading late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company located in Culver City, CA, developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious diseases.
ImmunityBio's clinical pipeline consists of 21 clinical trials—13 of which are in Phase II or III development—across 12 indications in solid and liquid cancers (including bladder, pancreatic, and lung cancers) and infectious diseases (including SARS-CoV-2 and HIV). Anktiva™, ImmunityBio's lead cytokine infusion protein, is a novel interleukin-15 superagonist complex and has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. FDA for BCG-unresponsive CIS non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
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