Jennifer S. Buell, President and Chief Executive Officer at MiNK Therapeutics, shared OncoDaily IO’s post on LinkedIn, adding:
“Thank you OncoDaily IO, for capturing this important discussion.
What makes iNKT cells so powerful is not just their antitumor potential, but their role as immune conductors—bridging innate and adaptive immunity in a way that is rapid, programmable, and clinically practical.
That combination enables relevance in oncology, lung dysfunction, and pandemic preparedness, not as separate silos but as a unified immune-resilience platform.
At the Summit, the emphasis was intentionally on innovation and execution:
- off-the-shelf and scalable
- no HLA matching or lymphodepletion
- simple IV delivery
- deployable beyond tertiary centers
Those attributes matter enormously as we advance immunotherapy from boutique innovation to global readiness.
The clinical signal—immune reconstitution with a favorable safety profile and growing combinatorial potential with IL-15 agonists and checkpoint inhibitors—reinforces that we are entering an Immunotherapy 2.0 era: one focused on coordination, durability, and access.
Grateful to the USA–Saudi Biotech Alliance for creating a forum that pairs scientific ambition with regulatory and manufacturing realism—and to the many collaborators advancing this field together.”
Quoting OncoDaily IO‘s post:
“iNKT Cells & Immunotherapy 2.0 | USA–Saudi Biotech Alliance Summit 2026
At the USA–Saudi Biotech Alliance Inaugural Summit, Jennifer S. Buell highlighted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells as a next-generation immunotherapy platform for cancer, severe infections, and pandemic preparedness.
Why iNKT cells?
Rare but highly conserved immune cells that act as master coordinators of immunity.
Platform advantages
- Off-the-shelf, allogeneic
- No HLA matching or lymphodepletion
- Scalable manufacturing, simple IV delivery
- Community-center ready
Clinical signal: Single-dose iNKT therapy showed immune reconstitution with a favorable safety profile (no CRS, no neurotoxicity) and promising activity in oncology and severe infections—especially in combination with IL-15 agonists and PD-1 inhibitors.”
Jennifer Buell At The USA-SAUDI Biotech Alliance Inaugural Summit 2026
