09:00 - 17:30 EST | 6.00 - 14.30 PST
* Please note that the following agenda timings are Eastern Standard Time.
For Pacific Standard Times, please download the full event guide here
8:30 am Join Our Morning Coffee Chatroom to Get Started!
8:45 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Discovering Best-In-Class Models for Cell & Combination Therapies
9:00 am PDX Models – The Most Translational Preclinical Models for CAR-T Therapies
Synopsis
• Predict human immune responses to primary cancer cells
• Provide proof of concept for innovative strategies to battle current limitations
• Gain the clinical confidence currently lacking for new CAR-T therapies
9:30 am Evaluate Immune Restoring CAR-T Cell Therapy on Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) Patient Derived Rrganotypic Spheroids (PDOTs) & Humanized Mouse Model
Synopsis
• The immune restoring CAR-T cells secreting checkpoint blockade inhibitor monoclonal antibodies at the tumor site exhibited superior efficacy and safety profiling
• ccRCC PDOTs was utilized for CAR-T evaluation
• Humanized ccRCC orthotopic NSG-SGM3 mouse model which models patient tumor microenvironment was established for CAR-T assessment
9:50 am Humanized Models Enabling Enhanced Clinical Relevancy & Translatability
Synopsis
• Immune checkpoint humanized mouse models
• Assessment of biologics efficacy and combo-therapy
• Importance of model design on overall model performances
• BRGSF-HIS hCD34+ reconstituted mice featuring human lymphoid and myeloid compartments
• Analysis of the human immune system and effector function
10:20 am Live Q&A – Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
10:40 am Speed Networking
Synopsis
A chance for those coffee table conversations. Randomized 1-2-1 meetings with your peers to grow your network.
10:55 am Morning Networking Break & 1-2-1 Meetings
Synopsis
Take this opportunity to meet with our expert partners for 1-2-1 meetings to find out about their latest innovations.
Preclinical Track
Emerging Models & Trends
11:10 am Parallel CAR Targetting of Solid Tumors in Xenograft Models
Synopsis
• Parallel CARs consist of a CD28-containing second generation CAR and a 4-1BB containing chimeric costimulatory receptor
• pCAR engineered T-cells demonstrate superior restimulation potential in vitro, and exert superior efficacy in 2D and 3D tumor/stroma model systems
• Superior in vivo activity has been demonstrated in a range of cell line and patient derived-tumor xenograft models
11:30 am Enabling Patient-Centric Cancer R&D with Primary Tissues & Pharmacoscopy®
Synopsis
• Primary patient tissue are as close as one can get to an actual patient in preclinical R&D
• Evaluate drug action in these complex samples, however, is analytically very challenging
• Allcyte demonstrated for the first time that ex vivo drug activity data can support treatment decisions and lead to patient benefit (reference: ASH 2020 abstract)
• Allcyte’s Pharmacoscopy® platform is specifically designed to interrogate drug activity in live patient tissues, using high-content imaging and single-cell deep-learning analysis, at scale and with clinical demonstrability
11:45 am Innate Immune Checkpoints in Tumor Immunotherapy
Synopsis
• Counteracting tumor immune evasion mechanisms
• Using strategic combinations to improve immunotherapy candidates in preclinical models
12:05 pm Live Q&A
Synopsis
Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
Translational Track
Single-Cell Analytics & Cancer Drug Resistance
11:10 am Using Single-Cell Omics to Better Understand Tumor Complexity
Synopsis
• Using single-cell analytics to overcome our limited understanding of tumor complexity
• Discovery of cellular populations that leave tumors vulnerable
• Apply single-cell analytics to rationally design cell therapies
11:30 am Overcoming Cancer Drug Resistance
Synopsis
• An overview of resistance in tumors
• Understand the mechanisms leading to resistance
• How to model these successfully to gain insights and guide clinical decisions
11:50 am The Role of Translational Medicine in Supporting Product Developmen: An Axi-Cel Case Study
Synopsis
• Axi-Cel clinical pharmacology (PK & PD)
• PK/PD associations with efficacy, toxicity and resistance
• Exploratory analyses supporting life cycle management and pipeline expansion
12:10 pm Live Q&A
Synopsis
Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
12:30 pm Scientific Poster Session & Lunch Break
Synopsis
Connect with your peers and head to our poster competition to share your latest and greatest cell therapy research!
Model Innovation, Tumor Microenvironment & Immune Response
1:30 pm Mimicking the Tumor Microenvironment Using 3D Culture Assays
Synopsis
• Recapitulating the tissue physiology in vitro
• Providing a more reflective model of how tumor cells respond to therapeutics
• Using r-bone matrices to support 3D cultures
1:45 pm Microenvironment via Utilizing Human Tumor Ex Vivo Explant Model
Synopsis
• Development and characterization of tumor explant model to elucidate tumor microenvironment
• Understanding the utility and limitations of tumor explant model
• Leveraging the tumor explant model for target ID/validation and translational research
2:05 pm Live Q&A
Synopsis
Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
Deep Dive Into Efficacy & Safety
1:30 pm Assessing CAR-T Efficacy in Xenograft Models: Examples of Structure Activity Relationship
Synopsis
• Learn the advantages and limitations of the simple xenograft model
• Discover the application of this in modelling CAR-T efficacy
1:50 pm Relevant Humanized Models for the Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Targeted Innate Immunity Agonists for Immuno-Oncology
Synopsis
• Mouse models with humanized immune systems and human tumor xenografts can better reflect the malignancy as well as the anti-tumor immune response, compared to, for example, syngeneic mouse tumor models
• Humanized mouse models enable combination therapies with existing targeting agents, such as immune checkpoint modulators, to be promptly evaluated
• Immunostimulatory molecules targeting potent innate immunity pathways have the capacity to induce adverse systemic responses, thus models that enable evaluating their safety side-by-side with anti-tumor efficacy provide unique biological insights
2:10 pm Live Q&A
Synopsis
Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
2:30 pm Roundtable Discussion: Predictability of Cell Therapies
Synopsis
Join your fellow colleagues in this interactive session to discuss why we are struggling with the predictability of cell therapies compared to other oncology approaches.
You can share your audio and video to be part of this conversation!
2:55 pm Networking Break & 1-2-1 Meetings
Synopsis
Take this opportunity to meet with our expert partners for 1-2-1 meetings to find out about their latest innovations.
Advancements in Combination Cell Therapies & Emerging Candidates
3:20 pm New Humanized Mouse Models to Support NK Cell Research
Synopsis
• Explore enhanced development of human NK cells in immunodeficient mice
• Successfully enabling long-term study
• Gain more confidence of NK cell therapy
3:50 pm Comparison of New Syngeneic Mouse Models & Human Organoids with Single Cell Sequencing
Synopsis
• Develop new mouse models for investigation of T cell-based therapeutics
• Create human organoid models for human modelling
• Validation of these by comparison to single-cell sequencing
4:10 pm Live Q&A – Ask Our Speakers Your Burning Questions
4:20 pm Panel Discussion: Organoid Modelling of the Tumor Landscape
Synopsis
• Balancing speed, costs, risks and predictability – driving 3D models in cell therapies
• How to overcome limitations of 3D models in oncology
• Reproducibility and technology advancements to enable 3D models adoption in cell therapies