Telos Biotechnology, a startup from UT Southwestern, has created TELOVANCE, a technology that temporarily lengthens telomeres to improve human cell and gene therapies. In CAR T-cell therapy, immune cells are isolated from the patient's blood, modified in a lab, and then reinfused back into the patient to fight cancer. However, about 50% of adult patients do not achieve long-term remission with this treatment. One reason is that during the immune cell modification process, the telomeres (the cell's "biological clock" that affects cell lifespan) shorten rapidly, thus limiting the effectiveness and longevity of the produced CAR T-cells. Telos Biotechnology's solution, TELOVANCE, i...

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Telos Biotechnology, a startup from UT Southwestern, has created TELOVANCE, a technology that temporarily lengthens telomeres to improve human cell and gene therapies. In CAR T-cell therapy, immune cells are isolated from the patient's blood, modified in a lab, and then reinfused back into the patient to fight cancer. However, about 50% of adult patients do not achieve long-term remission with this treatment. One reason is that during the immune cell modification process, the telomeres (the cell's "biological clock" that affects cell lifespan) shorten rapidly, thus limiting the effectiveness and longevity of the produced CAR T-cells. Telos Biotechnology's solution, TELOVANCE, involves adding a special enzyme during the CAR T-cell engineering process to transiently lengthen the telomeres safely. This process rejuvenates the CAR T-cells, making them more effective at killing cancer cells, which may lead to better outcomes for patients. Telos is working with several CAR T-cell pharmaceutical companies that are testing TELOVANCE in their cell manufacturing processes and reported positive preliminary results. We aim to start manufacturing TELOVANCE in Texas, following FDA guidelines, to integrate it into our partners' CAR T-cell manufacturing processes and establish revenue-generating collaborations. Additionally, we plan to expand our research on the safety and efficacy of TELOVANCE in animal models and explore its use in other therapies beyond CAR T-cells.

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