Post by Hannah Kaminski

🧬 A Major Milestone for French Public Research in γδ Cell Therapy A γδ T-cell therapy program, led by Prof. Lionel Couzi, Dr. Julie Déchanet-Merville, and Prof. Hannah Kaminski, is reaching a decisive milestone after more than 25 years of translational research conducted within ImmunoConcEpT at the Université de Bordeaux, in close collaboration with the CHU de Bordeaux. The preclinical proof of concept of this innovative strategy targeting CMV infection has been published in Nature Communications, paving the way for clinical development in humans. Supported by national public funding (ANR, PHRC), the program is now entering a strategic phase that includes: • Manufacturing of the cell therapy product within the ARTEMIS bioproduction platform at the Hospices Civils de Lyon, coordinated by Prof. Sébastien Viel, with the involvement of Dr. Cécile Auxenfans, Head of the Tissue and Cell Bank (HCL), • A Phase 0 first-in-human clinical trial, • Preparation of a multicenter Phase 1 clinical study. The clinical centers participating in these early-phase trials include: 🔹 Hospices Civils de Lyon – Prof. Olivier Thaunat 🔹 CHU de Toulouse – Prof. Nassim Kamar 🔹 Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg – Prof. Sophie Caillard 🔹 Hôpital Foch – Prof. Antoine Roux This program represents a significant step toward translating long-standing academic immunology research into a novel therapeutic strategy for transplant recipients facing refractory CMV infection. Lionel Couzi CHU de Bordeaux Université de Bordeaux 🔗 Université de Bordeaux | CHU de Bordeaux | Hospices Civils de Lyon | CHU de Toulouse | Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg | Hôpital Foch | Ministry of Health and Research (France) | ARS Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine | City of Bordeaux | Renaloo | France Rein | SFT | SFNDT