Communication Is Key to Successful Cell Therapy Trials: Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD

Coordinating early-phase immunotherapy trials across academic labs, industry sponsors, and clinical teams demands tight communication and cross-disciplinary teamwork, according to Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD, assistant professor at UCSF, who coleads the institution's Cancer Immunotherapy Research and Clinical Translation Unit.

Complexity Has Grown Alongside New Modalities

In an interview at an Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event in San Francisco on August 11, 2026, hosted by The American Journal of Managed Care^®, Keenan noted that the immunotherapy landscape has become more complex as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies and T-cell engagers have entered clinical use, often bringing significant early adverse effects and logistical demands. She said close, ongoing communication between clinical staff, industry sponsors, and cell therapy lab personnel is essential to keeping these trials running safely and efficiently.

"I would say that the best part of a well-functioning team is really communication, that being really key to stay in close touch between the clinical team and the sponsors that we're working with, as well as all of our staff and lab faculty who are involved,” she explained.

Keenan's role bridges research and patient care. Her team collaborates with industry sponsors to process patient samples for translational analysis and also runs investigator-initiated studies that move from the lab to the clinic. Techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and proteomics allow her group to study how the immune system responds to therapy using patient blood and tumor samples.

Patient Matching and Safety Remain Top Priorities

Among the biggest challenges in multicenter early-phase trials, Keenan cited finding the right patient for the right trial at the right time, particularly when biomarker-selected slots are limited and shared across sites. She also pointed to the growing intensity of inpatient cell therapy administration, which requires coordination between inpatient and outpatient teams to monitor and manage toxicities quickly.

For institutions building infrastructure to support cutting-edge therapy trials, Keenan emphasized close collaboration between inpatient cell therapy teams, outpatient clinical trial staff, and community oncologists, especially as patients often return home to receive follow-up care far from the treating center.