For people with severe allergies and mast cell diseases, the risk of a dangerous reaction can shape everyday decisions about food, activities, and family routines. Current treatments generally manage symptoms or lower the likelihood of a reaction, rather than directly targeting the immune cells thought to drive the disease. Allergene AI Therapeutics is developing an in vivo mRNA CAR-T therapy intended to address that underlying biology. The approach aims to temporarily program a patient’s own T cells to target mast cells, with the goal of eliminating sensitized cells and enabling the immune system to rebuild a less reactive mast cell population. Sid Kerkar, founder and CEO of Allergene AI Therapeutics, discusses the scientific rationale for this proposed immune reset, the potential for mRNA and lipid nanoparticle delivery to simplify and broaden access to CAR-T therapy, and the work needed to move the approach from early research into clinical testing.

Antibody-drug conjugates have established themselves as an important cancer-treatment modality, but their effectiveness and tolerability in solid tumors can be constrained by inadequate tumor delivery, incomplete internalization, and off-target toxicity. NEOK Bio is seeking to overcome those challenges with its bispecific ADC platform that uses dual-antigen targeting, engineered antibodies, and next-generation linker technology. Mayank Gandhi, co-founder and CEO of NEOK Bio, discusses the company’s bispecific ADC platform, its two clinical programs, and its strategy to develop more selective therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors.

Alzheimer’s disease remains one of medicine’s most intractable challenges. While existing therapies may address individual features of the disease, such as amyloid or tau, they have yet to reverse the progressive cognitive decline, inflammation, and neurodegeneration that characterize it. Evinco Therapeutics is developing nanoscale, natural killer cell-derived particles that carry proteins and microRNAs to target the neuroinflammation underlying Alzheimer’s. Alan Trounson, founder and CEO of Evinco Therapeutics, discusses the company’s multifaceted therapeutic approach, how these particles are designed to cross the blood-brain barrier, and their potential to modulate neuroinflammation, support the brain’s immune cells, and promote amyloid clearance.