Project Overview
Hooke Bio is collaborating with LIfT BioSciences to support the development of Immunomodulatory Alpha Neutrophils (IMANs), a first-in-class neutrophil progenitor-based immunotherapy designed to overcome the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME) found in many solid cancers.
Unlike conventional immunotherapies, IMANs combine direct tumour-killing activity with the ability to recruit and activate a patient's own anti-tumour immune response, including T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. This dual mechanism has the potential to enhance treatment efficacy and improve long-term anti-tumour immunity.
The Challenge
Many solid tumours create an immunosuppressive environment that limits the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell engagers, CAR-T and CAR-NK therapies.
Understanding how novel therapies interact with both tumour cells and the broader immune environment is critical for advancing more effective treatment strategies and identifying patients most likely to benefit.
The Mera™ Approach
- Real-time assessment of immune–tumour interactions
- Evaluation of IMAN-mediated tumour killing
- Analysis of immune activation and cytokine responses
- Monitoring of tumour microenvironment remodelling
- Development of predictive biomarkers and diagnostic tools
Potential Impact
The collaboration aims to generate translational data that supports the continued development of IMAN therapies while establishing a foundation for future patient response assays.
Using the Mera™ microphysiological system, Hooke Bio is developing advanced efficacy and safety assays that more closely replicate the complexity of the human tumour microenvironment than traditional in vitro models. By combining patient-derived tissues, 3D tumour models, healthy organoids, and immune cell populations under dynamic flow conditions, the project aims to generate deeper insights into IMAN mechanism of action, therapeutic efficacy, and safety.
Key outcomes include:
- Development of advanced efficacy and safety assays for IMAN cell therapies.
- Generation of human-relevant data to support preclinical decision-making.
- Improved understanding of immune–tumour interactions and IMAN mechanism of action.
- Validation of predictive biomarkers and patient response assays.
- Support for future patient stratification and personalised immunotherapy approaches.
- Demonstration of Mera™ as a platform for evaluating next-generation immunotherapies.
- Establishment of Hooke Bio as a centre of excellence for personalised immunotherapy testing and patient response modelling.
Ultimately, this work aims to improve the translation of preclinical findings into clinical success and accelerate the development of innovative cancer therapies for patients with limited treatment options.
