TC Biopharm (Holdings) PLC announced a strategic collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to expand the knowledge base of how gamma-delta T cells work in oncology settings. The collaboration brings together MD Anderson's clinical trial infrastructure and the translational research expertise of its immunotherapy platform with the clinical data of TC BioPharm's targeted gamma-delta T cell oncology pipeline. Under the terms of the three-year agreement, the research teams will work together on both preclinical and clinical studies to evaluate the potential for gamma-delta T cell therapies and to better understand the behaviors of these cells in patients.

The collaborators will form a six-person steering committee to drive the development of both the data set and subsequent assays for each study. The comprehensive immunoprofiling capabilities of MD Anderson's immunotherapy platform will enable correlative studies on clinical samples to uncover detailed insights on the behavior of gamma-delta T cells and corresponding responses in patients. The platform is co-led by Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology, and James Allison, Ph.D., regental chair of Immunology.

Formulating a better picture of what is occurring in patients during gamma delta T cell therapies is expected to allow TC Biopharm to better design future studies as well as form a view towards future targeted cancer studies in other blood cancers and solid tumors potentially.