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Delivering on the promise of cell therapies: Programmed immune cells attack cancer and other diseases

Delivering on the promise of cell therapies: Programmed immune cells attack cancer and other diseases

FromScience with a Twist


Delivering on the promise of cell therapies: Programmed immune cells attack cancer and other diseases

FromScience with a Twist

ratings:
Length:
23 minutes
Released:
Mar 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

⚡ Cell therapy is a promising field. Cell therapies can potentially transform medicine and treat some of the most severe diseases, like cancer. Wendell says, "That's one of the innate challenges here — how do you make something that's very controlled and specific and yet also very potent enough to really overcome the disease. And that's where we really think that cell therapies can be very powerful because cells can read different signals and then process that information almost, like I said, a little computer and then make very intelligent decisions but ones that are also still very potent in terms of killing the tumors." ⚡ There are many challenges in the cell therapy field. Even though the cell therapy field is powerful, it has its limitations. Wendell says, "There are many challenges that cell therapies face. There are many challenges we face in trying to overcome, say, solid cancers. But all of these are multifaceted problems. There isn't one solution, but they have different aspects when we think about cell therapies and make them a viable platform; not only do they have to be more effective, but also issues of how to manufacture them, make them more accessible and make them cheaper are major bottlenecks right now."⚡ Cell therapies could potentially help treat many serious diseases. Cell therapies are not only promising for cancer treatment, but they could help fight other serious diseases. Wendell explains, "I think that engineering and developing cell therapies in cancer is really just the vanguard of a bigger movement. If we really understand how living cells work and can program them in specific new ways, this could have a huge impact on a lot of diseases that we are not very good at treating. These include things like autoimmune disease or fibrosis, cardiac or pulmonary fibrosis, as well as degenerative diseases." 
Released:
Mar 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (38)

It’s almost impossible to overstate how many aspects of daily life are impacted by science. From technologies that help ensure the quality of the water we drink, to medicines that deliver lifesaving treatments – it’s all thanks to science. Each month, join Ron O’Brien, a science enthusiast from Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, as he talks to experts who are on the cutting-edge of redefining how we exist. This is Science with a Twist.