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A new type of cell therapy could improve the prognosis of critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by severe COVID-19, a study has suggested.
Professor Justin Stebbing of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is joint senior author of a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, which looks at the use of AgentT-797, MINK Therapeutics’ allogeneic, unmodified invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapy .
iNKT cell therapy has the effect of rescuing depleted T cells and inducing an anti-inflammatory cytokine response, which perhaps activates antiviral immunity to help these patients fight infection, as well as severe, pathological lung disease. Also reduces swelling.
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The new research was conducted at three medical centers and found that AgentT-797, which is also being investigated in cancer trials, can be manufactured rapidly, has a tolerable safety profile and is effective against the critically ill COVID-19. There is a positive impact on beach mortality. 19 ARDS patients are receiving intensive care.
The exploratory trial included 20 mechanically ventilated patients with severe ARDS due to COVID-19. Of the 20 patients in the trial, 14 survived 30 days (70 percent) (compared with a control group of 10 percent), and those who received the highest dose had an 80 percent lower incidence of bacterial pneumonia. agentT-797, compared with those who received fewer cells.
Twenty-one patients were treated in total (the main trial, plus one under compassionate use), including five who were receiving veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO), which is used in critically ill people. Known as ‘the most aggressive rescue therapy’. ARDS patients. In VV-ECMO, deoxygenated blood is pumped through a membranous lung and returned to the body through a cannula.
The trial is believed to be the first immune cell therapy of any type to be used in critically ill patients undergoing IV-ECMO. Survival of the VV-ECMO group was 80 percent after 30 and 90 days and 60 percent after 120 days. This compares favorably to the overall survival of 51 per cent of COVID-19 patients who were treated with only VV-ECMO during the same time frame, at the same institution.
“Throughout this small, exploratory study, we saw that MINK’s iNKT cell treatment, which has also been developed for people with cancer,” said joint senior author Justin Stebbing, professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, England. being, triggered an anti-inflammatory response in ARDS patients.
“Despite the poor prognosis, favorable mortality rates were observed in critically ill patients treated with this therapy and even reduced rates of pneumonia in those treated at the highest dose, which is important for the use of iNKT cells in the treatment of viral diseases and especially Underscoring the potential application of AgenT-797 to cancer and infection more broadly.
“AgenT-797 was rapidly manufactured and, unlike using patients’ cells, it is ‘off-the-shelf’ and made from cells from healthy donors. This therapy, used in many serious infections The efficacy of this study should be randomized controlled trials.”
Dr. Mark van Dijk, Chief Scientific Officer of mINK and co-author of the study, said, “These published findings reinforce the unique potency and ability of iNKT cells to alleviate severe acute respiratory distress.
“Data demonstrate the encouraging survival benefits of AgentT-797, its ability to help clear secondary infections, and tolerable administration on ventilated patients and IV-ECMO support.”
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