OnCo
technologiesTechnologyPhase 1

CAR-NK & CAR-macrophage

Putting the cancer-seeking receptor on natural killer cells or macrophages instead of T cells, which could be safer and off-the-shelf.

Cord-blood or iPSC-derived CAR-NK (Nkarta, Fate, Takeda/MD Anderson) show low CRS and allogeneic feasibility; efficacy durability is the question. CAR-macrophages (Carisma CT-0508, HER2) aim at solid tumour infiltration and phagocytosis; early and modest.

Schematic · not to scale
Tumour cell

How it works

Innate effector cells engineered with a CAR; NK cells lack GVHD risk enabling allogeneic use.

Strengths
  • Off-the-shelf potential
  • Low CRS/ICANS
Limitations
  • Short persistence
  • Manufacturing scale

Latest papers

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Literature trend328 papers in the last 12 months+18% vs prior 12How this is computed
Latest papers · live from Europe PMC
Open in Europe PMC

Query for this technology: (TITLE:"CAR-NK" OR ABSTRACT:"CAR-NK" OR TITLE:"CAR NK" OR ABSTRACT:"CAR NK" OR TITLE:"CAR-macrophage" OR ABSTRACT:"CAR-macrophage" OR TITLE:"CAR macrophage" OR ABSTRACT:"CAR macrophage"). Results are unfiltered search hits about CAR-NK & CAR-macrophage, not a curated reading list.

Connected

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Pages like this

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fronts

1
Cell Therapy

technologies

4
Allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cell therapyAllogeneic donor and iPSC master cell banksCAR-T cell therapyTrained innate immunity

companies

2
Fate TherapeuticsNkarta

institutions

5
IRCCS Humanitas Research HospitalKyoto University HospitalMasonic Cancer Center, University of MinnesotaMD Anderson Cancer CenterQIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

pathways

3
Antigen presentation & immune editingMyeloid suppression: TAMs, MDSCs & don't-eat-me signalsNK-cell recognition: missing self & stress ligands

terms

2
MacrophageNK cell

roadmaps

1
Cell therapy roadmap: CD19 CAR-T → solid tumours → in vivo CAR

ideas

6
Bispecific antibodies that engage macrophages instead of T cellsDeliver drugs and cells to the brain through the noseEngineered immune surveillance: long-lived programmed immune cells that patrol for early cancerOff-the-shelf natural killer cells to sweep up residual diseaseOpen the barrier so engineered immune cells can enter the brainQualify one iPSC master cell bank once for many off-the-shelf cell products

people

3
Hans-Gustaf LjunggrenMichael A. CaligiuriRolf Kiessling

bottlenecks

1
Manufacturing cost and time for living and radioactive medicines