About the seminar

The High Efficiency Cell Engineering Seminar was hosted at the University of Pennsylvania on October 27, 2023, with our special guest, Nils Wellhausen, who is co-mentored by Drs. Carl June and Saar Gill. Nils and colleagues recently published a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of most blood cancers. This presentation showcased the development of fratricide-resistant, base-edited CD45-targeting CAR T cells and CD45 epitope-edited hematopoietic stem cells. This approach paves the way forward for a universal blood cancer immune therapy.

In this work, CAR T cells and bispecific engagers targeting the pan-leukocyte marker CD45, were engineered to avoid on-target/off-tumor toxicities, using base editing to insert a mutation in the targeted CD45 epitope. This resulted in avoidance of CAR T cell recognition and preserved CD45 function. Edited CD45-targeting CAR T cells were effective against patient-derived myeloid and lymphoid cancers.

This approach could be the first in-human clinical trial combining two base-edited cell therapies. Advancements in gene-edited cell therapy manufacturing enabled by MaxCyte’s scalable electroporation can make a significant contribution to translating this work into the clinic. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the future of cellular engineering!

Read the full publication “Epitope base editing CD45 in hematopoietic cells enables universal blood cancer immune therapy.” Please find the DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adi1145

Penn Medicine News Release: Expanding the Impact of CAR T Cell Therapy: An Immunotherapy Strategy Against All Blood Cancers.