INSPIRE Study
INSPIRE is the Tumor Immunotherapy Program’s flagship study, activated in March 2016 with the primary objective of evaluating the changes in the genomic and immune landscapes in patients with various advanced solid tumors during treatment with pembrolizumab, and to perform a thorough immunological response evaluation. The study was led by the TIP Clinical Principal Investigator, Dr. Lillian Siu and the TIP Scientific Principal Investigator, Dr. Pamela Ohashi, having accrued 106 patients with head and neck, breast, ovarian, melanoma and other advanced solid tumors before closing to further enrollment in 2018. INSPIRE has achieved remarkable milestones, including the publication of multiple high-impact papers in renowned journals such as the Nature family and Cancer Discovery. These publications mark a significant contribution to the scientific community at the Princess Margaret and underscore the excellence of our collaborative efforts. The success of INSPIRE would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the many research staff involved over the years and our funders!
This clinical trial is registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02644369)
TBI-200101 Study
The adoptive transfer of T cells engineered with a CAR specific for the B lymphocyte antigen CD19 has shown impressive clinical responses in patients with refractory B cell malignancies. However, the therapeutic effects of CAR-T cells for diseases such as Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia have been disappointing. The TBI-200101 study is a clinical trial led by the TIP Clinical Principal Investigator, Dr. Marcus Butler, evaluating a next generation CAR T construct that was developed by the TIP Scientific Principal Investigator Dr. Naoto Hirano. This novel CAR construct is capable of inducing an optimized immune response that is hoped to result in improved clinical responses. This novel technology, the "JAK-STAT CAR," has been patented and is being developed through an industrial collaboration. The clinical trial is for patients with CD19 expressing Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma where standard treatments have failed. The manufacturing of the CAR-T cells is performed at the point-of-care by the TIP Centre for Cell Manufacturing. The trial opened in 2023 and the first batch of CAR-T cells has been manufactured. This is a first-in-human trial and represents an in-house bench-to-bedside translational research continuum.
This clinical trial is registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05963217)
Featured in Global NEWS
An article in Global NEWS entitled: “Behind the science of cancer-fighting immunotherapy” described advances in cancer immunotherapy and some of the researchers in the field, including the Director of TIP, Dr. Pamela Ohashi and TIP Executive Member, Dr. Marcus Butler.