Cellectis Presents 'Smart CAR T' Strategy to Enhance Efficacy Against Solid Tumors at AACR-IO 2025

Core Insights - Cellectis is presenting a novel T cell engineering strategy that utilizes interleukin 2 (IL-2) to enhance the efficacy of CAR T cells against solid tumors at the AACR-IO conference [1][2] - The company focuses on developing life-saving cell and gene therapies through its gene-editing platform and allogeneic CAR T immunotherapies [3][4] Company Overview - Cellectis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that employs a pioneering gene-editing platform to create cell and gene therapies [3] - The company is known for its allogeneic approach to CAR T immunotherapies, offering off-the-shelf and ready-to-use gene-edited CAR T cells for cancer treatment [3] - Cellectis has in-house manufacturing capabilities, making it one of the few companies that control the entire cell and gene therapy value chain [3] Research and Development - The research presented at the conference indicates that CAR-induced expression of a synthetically engineered FAP-IL2v immunocytokine enhances the anti-tumor activity of TALEN-edited allogeneic CAR T cells without the toxicity associated with IL-2 [2][5] - The engineered CAR T cells utilize a CAR-inducible IL-2 variant (IL-2v) that is activated by tumor-specific cues, allowing for localized activity within the tumor microenvironment [5] - This strategy aims to improve CAR T cell expansion and anti-tumor activity while minimizing systemic toxicity typically linked to circulating IL-2 [5]