In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, a natural killer cell immunotherapy derived from induced pluripotent stem cells is being tested for safety in 64 patients with a variety of solid tumors. The first patients received the cells in February at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Moores Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“This is a landmark accomplishment for the field of stem cell–based medicine and cancer immunotherapy. This clinical trial represents the first use of cells produced from human induced pluripotent stem cells to better treat and fight cancer,” says Dan Kaufman of UCSD in a press release. Kaufman collaborates with Fate Therapeutics, a biotech firm that developed the therapy, and researchers at the University of Minnesota to develop natural killer (NK) cell products including the one used in the study.
NK cells are immune cells in the same family as T and B cells, and are very ...
