GI Innovation’s Biologics Show Promise In Strengthening CAR-T Therapy And Overcoming Tumor Resistance

GI Innovation is advancing two promising biologic treatments, GI-101A and GI-108, to address significant challenges in cancer therapy, particularly with CAR-T cell durability and the immune-suppressive tumour environment. The company presented two poster studies on these treatments at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2024 conference, held from November 6-10 in Houston, Texas. 

SITC, established in 1984, is the largest global event dedicated to cancer immunotherapy, bringing together over 4,600 experts from 63 countries to advance cancer treatment. In an interview with Korea Biomedical Review, Chief Scientific Officer Jang Myoung-ho and VP of Clinical Development Yun Na-ri shared insights on how GI Innovation aims to improve outcomes for patients experiencing relapse or resistance to current therapies.

Yun said in a statement, "The immunotherapy landscape is evolving rapidly, but significant challenges remain. With our GI-101A program, we're addressing one of the most critical issues in CAR-T therapy – the challenge of maintaining long-term responses, said Yun. "In our lymphoma models, we observed that while CAR-T therapy alone showed initial responses, tumours typically recurred after day 20. However, combined with GI-101A, we achieved complete remission.”

"This isn't just about extending survival. What we're seeing in our preclinical models is unprecedented, maintaining responses for over 100 days. Typically, in mouse models, CAR-T cells show recurrence around day 18, and this data has generated significant interest from clinicians. With GI-101A, we’re not just increasing CAR-T cell numbers; we’re enhancing the quality of those cells to make them more effective over time,” Jang stated. 

Jang emphasised that a critical hurdle in CAR-T therapy is the steep decline in CAR-T cells after infusion, challenging sustained therapeutic effects.

GI-101A, a CD80-IgG4-IL2v2 fusion protein, has shown promising potential in supporting CAR-T cell expansion and boosting memory T cells in a lymphoma model, which are crucial for sustained immune defence. In typical mouse models, CAR-T cells often recur by day 18, but GI-101A has generated intense interest among clinicians due to its potential to support longer-lasting effects.