Approaches to Individualize Immunotherapy to Fight Infection

Marcos Pires, PhD, assistant professor at Lehigh University, explains whether or not his team’s strategy to use immunotherapy as a substitute for antibiotics will vary from patient to patient.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“We believe that, as it currently stands, the immunotherapy strategy that we’re looking at, can be individualized depending on the patient, although we understand that there is going to be natural variability between [one] patient [and another]. With an eye towards future applications, we’re also trying to diversify the type of molecules that we have.

The hope there is, perhaps if one set of molecules doesn’t work for a certain type of bacteria, maybe another set of molecules may then be active. In that way, it is somewhat individualized. Whenever one talks about immunotherapy, it inherently relies on the immune system of the patient; in that sense, the therapy in itself will probably have to be monitored, the response will have to be looked at, and it potentially might have to be adjusted during the therapy.”