Benefit

Technology Description

Infectious disease and cancer are major health concerns which continue to persist despite advancing technology. Immunotherapy is becoming a popular choice for clinicians, particularly in the treatment of various cancers. The protein butyrophilin 3A1 (BTN3A1) is an immune co-receptor which binds intracellular ligands to activate immune responses, including gamma delta T cell activation. Ligands which activate BTN3A1 represent novel therapies for infectious disease and cancer.

Dr. David Wiemer and his collaborators have developed novel small molecules and a method of activating human γδ T cells by binding to BTN3A1. Prior butyrophilin ligands suffer from rapid degradation by plasma esterases, which makes dosing difficult and reduces efficacy. These novel compositions are resistant to esterase degradation and exhibit enhanced plasma stability overcoming the problem of prior compounds. Additional work has been done to develop newer prodrugs of butyrophilin ligands with even greater potency and stability when tested in models of human plasma. Together, these compounds may greatly boost the immune response and have the potential to address significant challenges to human health including malignancies.

UIRF Case No. 2024-002

Stage of Development

Compounds have been synthesized and have been evaluated for potency in models of T cell proliferation and cytokine production, as well as evaluated for metabolism in models of human plasma stability and cell payload release. Initial animal testing is ongoing.