Lineage Cell Therapeutics Receives US Patent for Immunogenic Dendritic Cells Generating System

Lineage Cell Therapeutics (NYSE American:LCTX, TASE:LCTX) has announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent No. 10,344,262 for a system to produce antigen presenting dendritic cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

As quoted in the press release:

The claimed system and cell populations involve culturing cells in a serum-free medium utilizing factors including bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4), granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), stem cell factor (SCF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to generate hESC-derived mature dendritic cells.

“The issuance of this patent is important because the allowed claims support our differentiation process for the production of VAC2, our allogeneic, or “off-the-shelf” cancer immunotherapy program, currently being tested in a Phase I clinical trial in subjects with non-small cell lung cancer,” stated Brian M. Culley, Chief Executive Officer of Lineage. “VAC2 is produced from pluripotent cell technology to generate a population of mature dendritic cells, which are utilized because of their potent antigen presenting ability which instructs the body’s immune system to attack and eliminate harmful pathogens and unwanted cells. VAC2 is specifically designed to stimulate a patient’s immune response to a tumor antigen commonly expressed in cancerous cells but rarely found in normal adult cells. We are fortunate that the VAC2 trial is being fully-funded and conducted by Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research charity. Patient enrollment will continue throughout 2019 and we expect to have immunogenicity data on the initial set of patients later this year.”

Click here to read the full press release.