ONK Therapeutics, is an innovative cell therapy company dedicated to developing a next generation of off-the-shelf, dual-targeted NK cell therapy platform targeting hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The Company was founded in 2015, by Prof. O’Dwyer MD, of NUI Galway, an expert in translational multiple myeloma research, the tumour microenvironment, and exploitation of NK cells as cellular immunotherapy. Its core proprietary platform is based on a dual-targeted NK cell expressing both a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting a known tumour antigen and a TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand variant (TRAILv) targeting the death receptor pathway (i.e. DR4 or DR5). This promising new approach has the potential to enhance efficacy by addressing both intrinsic (e.g. CAR engagement of a tumor specific antigen) and extrinsic (e.g. signalling through the death receptor pathway) apoptotic pathways, and to reduce the susceptibility to possible target antigen escape through the engagement of tumor antigen independent TRAILv.
