miCAR: combining microRNA gene silencing with CAR expression

Marco Alessandrini, PhD, Antion Biosciences SA, Geneva, Switzerland, provides an overview of Therapeutic MiniGen (TMG) technology, a synthetic microRNA-based multiplex gene silencing technology for the engineering of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells. He also describes miCAR technology, a biomodal gene construct combining the TMG microRNA cassette with CAR expression, thus allowing the simultaneous silencing of multiple genes and expression of therapeutic proteins. This platform has allowed the generation of allogeneic miCAR T-cells specifically designed to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and achieve improved safety and efficacy. This interview took place during the American Society for Cell & Gene Therapy 24th Annual Meeting 2021.