Masked T-cell engagers: cancer immunotherapies for the future?
By Sheena Cruickshank, Professor in Immunology, University of Manchester
Jonathan Worboys, Research Fellow, Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Manchester University
A new immunotherapy drug has demonstrated early promise in a recent prostate cancer clinical trial. The drug, called VIR-5500, is a “masked T-cell engager”. This type of immunotherapy ignites our own immune arsenal to fight cancer.
In the trial, which is still in progress and has not yet undergone peer-review, patients with advanced prostate cancer who had failed to respond to other treatments were given VIR-5500. Remarkably, initial findings showed that in the patients who received the highest doses,…
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Wednesday, March 18, 2026