Grit Bio will present its high-throughput screening platform, ImmuT Finder®, and next-generation gene-edited TIL product, GT316, at AACR

Grit Bio（沙砾生物） is set to announce the next-generation TIL product, GT316, identified from the high-throughput CRISPR screening platform, ImmuT Finder®, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in 2023.

ImmuT Finder® is a novel T-cell immune regulatory target discovery platform. It employs two different screening models, in vitro and in vivo, to simulate a range of challenges that T-cell products encountered within solid tumors. Using CRISPR libraries targeting the entire human genome or mouse target libraries, it identifies a set of candidate hits that potentially regulate T-cell exhaustion and enhance functionality. The selected candidate targets undergo comprehensive functional validation, resulting in development of first-in-class gene knockout T-cell products and potential breakthrough cellular therapies for solid tumor treatment. Grit holds worldwide intellectual property rights for the assets.

Figure: Schematic diagram of in vitro screening platform identifying immunoregulatory targets in T cells by ImmuT Finder®

GT316 is a pioneering next-generation TIL product developed by Grit Bio using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. Through the ImmuT Finder® discovery platform, key immune regulatory targets in primary T cells are identified. Subsequently, the KOReTIL® gene knockout platform efficiently knocks out the corresponding target genes in TIL. Preclinical in vitro experiments have shown that compared to unedited first-generation TIL product, GT316 significantly counteracts TIL exhaustion and apoptosis, promotes TIL proliferation, cytotoxicity, persistence and maintains higher TCR clone diversity. In patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models, GT316, supported by low-dose IL-2, completely eradicate tumor growth without significant toxicity. This demonstrates significant clinical advantages of GT316 compared to traditional TIL products. Currently, GT316 is undergoing Investigator-Initiated Trial (IIT) clinical trials.

Figure: Efficacy and Body Weight of GT316 in Cervical Cancer PDX Mouse Model

（Note: The IL-2 dosage in the GT316 group was only 1/5th of that in NT control group.）

Poster information：

Title: The discovery and development of a CRISPR/Cas9-engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes product (GT316) as a next-generation TIL therapy

Session Category: Immunology

Session Title: Adoptive Cell and Natural Killer Cell Therapy

Session Date and Time: Tuesday Apr 18, 2023 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Section 22

Abstract Presentation Number: 4062