Johannes Breuning
Director, Oncology Biologics Pipeline GSK
Dr Johannes Breuning obtained his PhD in 2016 from the University of Oxford in molecular immunology focusing on T cell receptor signalling. After a Postdoc in the same lab, he started a position as investigator at GSK in the Oncology Cell Therapy group in 2018, developing novel cell therapies for solid cancer. Johannes transitioned to working on biologics in in the oncology space in 2022, focusing on T cell engager and antibody drug conjugates. His work spans from early discovery of novel drug targets and drugs to supporting clinical trials with experimental biology. Johannes also leads multiple academic collaborations examining mechanistic details of T cell engager biology.
Seminars
Given that many tumour-associated antigens are also expressed on healthy tissues, on-target/off-tissue toxicity remains a significant challenge for TCE therapies. This workshop will explore next-generation engineering strategies that are reshaping TCE design to enhance selectivity and enable safer targeting of difficult antigens.
- Incorporating costimulatory domains and conditional activation systems to enhance therapeutic efficacy while minimising systemic toxicit
- Evaluating avidity-based engineering and multi-targeting strategies to achieve greater tumour selectivity and reduce engagement with healthy tissues
- Assessing the practical challenges of each engineering approach including manufacturing complexity, scalability, immunogenicity risk, and preclinicalto-clinical translation
