Introducing Immunotherapy Advances

There has never been a better time to launch a new journal to serve the field of immunotherapy. In the treatment of cancer, autoimmune disease and allergy, we have already seen the replacement of conventional treatments with immunotherapy drugs, and in coming years, it is likely that more diseases will reveal immunological targets as their disease mechanisms are uncovered. It is also likely that new challenges in managing long-term chronic diseases and co-morbidity, posed by an ageing population, will require new immunological solutions.

As immunotherapy becomes mainstream, the current immunotherapy drug market is projected to grow to over $270bn by the year 2025 [1]. This growth will help to pull through novel agents and therapeutic approaches from the laboratory into clinical trials: especially given the current appetite of the pharmaceutical industry for ‘bio-innovations’ as opposed to ‘bio-similars’. Furthermore, in the field of oncology, there are thousands of ongoing clinical trials that combine current approved immunotherapeutics with other agents [2]. In order to differentiate the efficacy of each combination, it will be necessary to understand exactly how the drugs interact to bring about their clinical effect and this will inevitably drive research into mechanism of action; no doubt fuelling the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches in other diseases.

All this will generate a large amount of new knowledge, and in Immunotherapy Advances, we hope to capture the very best research spanning the translational pipeline from discovery research and preclinical models through to clinical trials. We launch with three research articles including both preclinical [3] and human [4, 5] studies. We are particularly keen to encourage experimental medicine and first-in-human clinical studies where they contribute to immune-mechanism insight. We will complement our research content with insightful commentary and informative reviews from field leaders. I am delighted to say we have examples of both at the time of launch in December 2020, in the form of a vision for immunotherapy from one of the pioneers of translational cancer immunology, Kees Melief [6]; a superb and accessible primer for immunotherapy in the form of a review on immunotherapeutic approaches to infectious disease, from our Regional Editor for Africa Stefan Barth and his colleagues [7]; as well as reviews on CAR-T therapy in infectious disease [8] and follicular T-helper cell responses to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy in diabetes [9].

To stay abreast of the fast pace of progress in the booming immunotherapy clinical trials landscape, we are publishing a special TrialsWatch section in which we give experts the opportunity to summarise the very latest clinical trials activity in their area. A special feature of the TrialsWatch series is the involvement of the British Society for Immunology (BSI) Affinity Groups – UK networks organised across key themes in immunology. These articles represent their consensus view of what is topical and they bring a vast amount of immunology expertise to bear on the timeliness and importance of the area under review. We launch with two splendid examples: one a highly specific analysis of a phase 1 trial of a first-in-class therapeutic in ulcerative colitis from the BSI Autoimmunity Affinity Group [10]; and the other an informed broad sweep of what is hot in the immunotherapy of melanoma from the BSI Tumour Immunology Affinity Group [11]. I invite other professional groups to consider contributing to this valuable resource in future.

The curious mind can often gain important mechanistic insight by combining disciplines at all stages in the translational pipeline, so studies involving engineering, mathematics and computer science, chemistry and the physical sciences, are encouraged. One exciting growth area is the application of artificial intelligence and computational modelling to clinical trial design; another is the incorporation of point-of-care biomarker analysis into trials design. We are keen to grow with a global mind-set: drawing from a wide and diverse pool of international scientists, clinicians and other researchers. Our Open Access platform ensures that all our content is available and free to everyone, and this will make it easier to bring our global content to a global audience. To help this strategic aim, I am delighted to be working with six worldwide Regional Editors: Stephanie Dougan (North America), Adriana Bonomo (South America), Marianne Boes (Europe), Stefan Barth (Africa), Tao Dong (Asia), and Menno van Zelm (Australasia). They are a terrific team who are not only at the top of their fields but also have extensive regional knowledge and are supported by an editorial board of experts from academia and industry from 18 countries across all six continents.

The Open Access model also makes the content of Immunotherapy Advances readily available to and representative of a broad audience including valuable stakeholders working outside the academy: doctors, health professionals, patients, and a growing body of interested public and policy makers. In line with this aim, I am pleased to include a perceptive commentary on the translation of cellular immunotherapies from the regulators’ perspective, from McBlane, of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and Exley [12].

Finally, a word on quality. The quality of Immunotherapy Advances will not be determined by our access model but by the research and commentary we publish; by our reviewers and editors; and by the reputation of the professional society behind us. Immunotherapy Advances is the third official journal of the British Society for Immunology and consequently has an excellent pedigree. I am working with Simon Milling, Editor-in-Chief of Immunology and Leonie Taams, Editor-in-Chief of Clinical & Experimental Immunology, to ensure that we complement our sibling journals and that the content synergises wherever possible. All three journals place a significant importance on mechanistic insight, and this is where I think we will see added value: for example, by working on joint virtual issues that might link a particular immunotherapeutic approach to its fundamental immunological mechanisms and disease pathology. I hope you will join me in supporting the British Society for Immunology to ensure that Immunotherapy Advances becomes a leading journal in the field.

Funding

None declared.

Conflict of interest

None declared.