March 18, 2021 -- Antion Biosciences has launched its allogeneic miCAR T-cell technology platform (miCAR), which has the ability to simultaneously silence and express therapeutic proteins.
The company's miCAR technology has the potential to provide an off-the-shelf treatment option for patients that removes the need for harvesting a patient's own cells. It also eliminates lengthy manufacturing steps.
The technology platform utilizes Antion's proprietary therapeutic minigene technology. The synthetic microRNA construct has the ability to silence multiple target genes simultaneously. It can then be used to form a bimodal gene construct with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), called miCAR.
The company then creates allogeneic miCAR T cells with the ability to simultaneously silence multiple genes and express therapeutic proteins in a single manufacturing step, allowing for uniform multiplex gene silencing and CAR expression across all gene-modified T cells.
Initially, Antion is focused on oncology, with multiple myeloma as its lead target. Future targets will include hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The company is also using miCAR technology to target infectious diseases, including HIV infection and COVID-19, as well as sensory disorders like inner ear gene therapy.