The Killer Instinct: Using natural killer therapy to treat Alzheimer’s - An Interview with Dr. Vincent DeOrchis
02/21/24 - DDW Editor Reece Armstrong speaks to Dr Paul Song, MD, NKGen and Dr Vince DeOrchis, clinician, to find out more about the investigational natural killer therapy SNK01 and the benefit of using a patient’s own cells to treat Alzheimer’s.
In October 2023, pharmaceutical company NKGen Biotech released data from its Phase I clinical trial on the use of its investigational natural killer therapy, SNK01, to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Though the study was small and designed to primarily assess SNK01’s safety, data indicate that the therapy may do more than slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA has also granted Compassionate Use to SNK01 and the therapy is currently being used to treat a patient with Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Vincent DeOrchis interviewed by WPIX’s Marvin Scott regarding the first patient in the U.S. treated with an experimental therapy developed by NKGen Biotech for advanced Alzheimer’s type dementia
Dr. Vincent DeOrchis, interviewed by WPIX’s Marvin Scott regarding the treatment of the first patient in the United States with a experimental adoptive cellular immunotherapy developed by NKGen Biotech for the treatment of advanced Alzheimer’s type dementia
CGRP - A New Weapon in the Battle for Migraine Freedom
CGRP was first identified as a molecule of interest in the headache-pain pathway in 1986, but it wasn’t until 2000 when the first agents targeting the CGRP receptor (“gepants”) were developed. The first proof-of-concept study which took place in 2004 demonstrated a significant reduction in migraine symptoms when administered during the attack. Unfortunately future progress was stymied in 2009 when an early molecule, oral talcagepant, was associated with elevated liver enzymes and the trial was subsequently halted. The progress these agents made nevertheless supported further development and spurred the creation of second generation agents which showed far more promise without the risk of liver toxicity and better tolerability than was seen with the triptan agents.
Dr. DeOrchis and NKMAX partner to obtain FDA clearance for experimental Alzheimer‘s disease drug for compassionate use in U.S.
As reported in Pulse News, “NKMAX, a NK cell-based immunotherapy company in Korea, Wednesday said an investigational cell therapeutic SNK01 from its subsidiary NKGen Biotech (formerly NKMAX America) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with Alzheimer’s disease in compassionate use programs…Approval was given to Dr. Vincent Deorchis of St. Francis Hospital in New York, and he will use SNK01 for the treatment of eligible patients.”
FDA Approves First Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease in Almost 20 Years
On June 7, 2021, the FDA made a controversial and unexpected decision to greenlight a novel therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, the first approved for this condition since 2003. ADUHELM (aducanumab), manufactured by Biogen, marks a new class of cognitive therapy – a monoclonal antibody directed at amyloid beta aggregates and soluble oligomers, the pathologic hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.