Chimeric Antigen Receptors Targeting CD70 A New Cellular Immunotherapy Platform for Cancers Expressing CD70

This patent describes chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) directed at the cell-surface protein CD70, polynucleotides encoding them, and engineered immune cells that express the CARs on their surface, intended for the treatment of cancers that express CD70, including renal cell carcinoma, glioma and certain lymphomas and leukemias.

The Problem

CAR-T cell therapy has reshaped the treatment of certain blood cancers since the first FDA approvals in 2017. The approach takes a patient’s (or donor’s) T cells, equips them with a synthetic receptor that recognises a tumour-associated antigen, and reinfuses them so the engineered cells locate and kill cells displaying that antigen. Most clinically validated CARs target B-cell antigens such as CD19 and BCMA. Extending CAR-T to solid tumours and to non-B-cell haematologic malignancies has been harder, in large part because suitable target antigens, expressed widely on the tumour but sparingly on normal tissues, are scarce. CD70 is a candidate target: it is found on a broad range of cancers including renal cell carcinoma, lymphomas, leukemias and certain gliomas, but is restricted on normal tissues to activated immune cells. Capturing that opportunity requires CARs designed specifically against CD70 and immune cells engineered to deploy them safely.

What This Invention Does

The invention covers three connected layers. First, a family of chimeric antigen receptors whose extracellular domain binds CD70, paired with a transmembrane domain and intracellular signalling components designed to drive T-cell activation, proliferation and cytotoxicity when CD70 is engaged. Second, polynucleotides that encode those CARs, suitable for introducing the construct into immune cells. Third, isolated cells, including T cells engineered into CD70-specific CAR-T cells, that express the CAR on their surface and can be administered to patients.

The patent also covers methods of engineering the immune cells to bear the receptor, compositions of the engineered cells, and methods of treatment for cancers, with renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, leukemia and glioma identified explicitly.

Key Features

• CD70-directed binding domain. The CAR’s recognition arm specifically engages CD70, the cell-surface ligand of CD27, expressed by several cancers including RCC, lymphomas, leukemias and gliomas.
• Standard CAR signalling chassis. The CAR architecture combines the CD70-binding domain with established transmembrane and intracellular signalling elements that drive cytotoxic activity in the engineered cell.
• Encoding polynucleotides. Nucleic acid constructs encoding the CARs, suitable for delivery into immune cells via the standard viral and non-viral CAR-T workflow.
• Engineered immune cells. Isolated cells, particularly T cells, that express the CD70-specific CAR on their surface.
• Therapeutic indications. Methods of treating cancers that express CD70, including renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, leukemia and glioma, with the engineered CAR-T cells.

Who Is Behind It?

The applicant is Pfizer Inc., one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, which has built an internal cell-therapy and oncology pipeline through both in-house programs and a series of acquisitions. The named inventor team, including Niranjana Aditi Nagarajan, Surabhi Srivatsa Srinivasan, Siler Panowski, Roman Ariel Galetto, Mathilde Brunnhilde Dusseaux, Thomas John Van Blarcom, Barbra Johnson Sasu, Yoon Park and others, includes scientists associated with Allogene Therapeutics and Cellectis, the cell-therapy specialists that have collaborated extensively with Pfizer in this space. The Australian application is a divisional of AU 2019216420 and entered the national phase from PCT/US2019/016189, with US provisional priorities going back to early 2018.

Why It Matters

Solid-tumour CAR-T has been the unconquered frontier of the cell-therapy field. CD70 is one of the more promising solid-tumour targets because it has a discriminating expression profile and is associated with cancers that have long-standing unmet clinical needs, including renal cell carcinoma. Securing broad IP coverage on CD70-directed CARs and the engineered cells that deploy them positions Pfizer for both internal development and partnership opportunities in a category where multiple companies, from Allogene to Crispr Therapeutics, have been active. The Australian filing brings the family into a market with active CAR-T clinical trial infrastructure.

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AU 2026201815 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 9 April 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.