Since 2003 Westmead T Cell Therapies Program has manufactured native T cell receptor (TCR) antigen specific T cell therapies for pathogen targets and used these products in clinical trials of adoptive cell therapy. These trials have assessed safety and clinical efficacy in immune reconstitution for common opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, adenovirus, BK virus and others. More recently the ability to ex vivo expand rare cell populations has facilitated trials of tumour targeted therapies for myeloid malignancies. The Westmead Program includes a cell bank of pathogen specific T cells from third party donors including CMV, EBV, adenovirus and SARS-CoV2.
The ability to assess the in vivo effect of the adoptively transferred cells has been enhanced by the availability of multiparameter cytometry and high throughput sequencing techniques. Greater knowledge of clinical effects will facilitate improvements in product manufacturing and greater precision in clinical application.