NeoImmuneTech-Enabled “Expand & Pull” Immunotherapy Strategy for Glioblastoma Published in Nature Communications

A stepwise “Expand & Pull” strategy that first expands systemic T cells and then pulls them into tumors Demonstrated long-term survival and suppression of tumor recurrence in immunotherapy-resistant brain tumor models Induction of CD8 T cell-driven immune memory, with further efficacy enhancement when combined with PD-1 checkpoint inhibition February 20, 2026 — ROCKVILLE, MD : NeoImmuneTech, Inc., a T cell-focused immunotherapy company, announced today the publication of preclinical research results in the international scientific journal Nature Communications (Impact Factor: 15.7), presenting a novel therapeutic approach, termed “Expand & Pull”, designed to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in glioblastoma animal models. The study was led by the research team of Professor Milan G. Chheda, MD, PhD, of the Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, with NeoImmuneTech participating as a collaborative research partner. Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant brain tumors and is known to respond poorly to immunotherapy due to a lack of immune cell infiltration around the tumor and profound systemic immune dysfunction, which together limits therapeutic efficacy. The core concept of this study is a stepwise therapeutic strategy that first expands systemic T cells (“Expand”) and then directs them into the tumor microenvironment (“Pull”). In this approach, researchers used NeoImmuneTech’s IL-7-based T cell amplifier NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) to substantially increase circulating T cell numbers, followed by intratumoral administration of an oncolytic virus to recruit the expanded T cells into the tumor. As a result, combination therapy significantly improved survival compared with monotherapy in immunotherapy-resistant glioblastoma animal models, with long-term survival observed in a subset of treated animals. Further analyses showed that the combination therapy not only increased T cell infiltration into tumors but also enhanced their cytotoxic activity. Specifically, intratumoral CD8 T cells increased, while immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) decreased, shifting the tumor microenvironment toward a more immune-responsive state. The research team also confirmed that this strategy is not limited to a single viral platform and can be applied to a variety of oncolytic viruses, including safety-optimized viral variants and clinically studied adenoviruses. Donghoon Choi, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of NeoImmunTech, commented, “This publication in Nature Communications once again demonstrates the scientific and clinical potential of NT-I7 as a next-generation immuno-oncology therapy. Glioblastoma is among the most challenging cancers for immunotherapy, but this study shows that restoring systemic immunity with NT-I7 and then directing immune cells into tumors can generate a powerful anti-tumor immune response.” *** END *** Publication Information Journal: Nature Communications Title: Long-acting interleukin-7 improves the efficacy of oncolytic viral therapy in glioblastoma Lead Author: Milan G. Chheda Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, MO

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