Jakob Dupont – VJRegenMed

Advances in cell-based therapies for MS

admin_vjr_user — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:47:36 +0000

Jakob Dupont, MD, MA, Atara Biotherapeutics, San Francisco, CA, provides an overview of the current landscape for cell-based therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS). There is evidence to suggest that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can drive the development of autoimmune diseases such as MS. Dr Dupont describes ATA188, an allogeneic EBV-targeting T-cell immunotherapy currently being investigated for the treatment of progressive MS. Another cell-based strategy involves giving chemotherapy to patients with MS to ablate their immune system, followed by a bone marrow transplant to reconstitute it. Other stem cell-based approaches are in early phase clinical trials. This interview took place during the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting 2021.

ATA188: an allogeneic EBV-specific T cell therapy for progressive MS

admin_vjr_user — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:47:35 +0000

Jakob Dupont, MD, MA, Atara Biotherapeutics, San Francisco, CA, describes ATA188, an off-the-shelf, healthy donor-derived T-cell immunotherapy that targets Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) for the treatment of progressive MS. He provides an overview of the Phase I/II EMBOLD study (NCT03283826) of ATA188 in patients with progressive MS. The open-label dose-escalation period of this study (Part 1) demonstrated the safety and tolerability of ATA188, with a lack of reported infusion reactions or cytokine release syndromes. The ongoing double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled dose-expansion period (Part 2) aims to evaluate the efficacy of ATA188 through the primary outcome measure of sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) improvement at 12 months post-treatment. This interview took place during the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting 2021.

Characterization of ATA188: an off-the-shelf therapy for MS

admin_vjr_user — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:47:33 +0000

Jakob Dupont, MD, MA, Atara Biotherapeutics, San Francisco, CA, describes a recent study demonstrating the comprehensive profiling of drug lots of ATA188, an allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific T cell therapy being investigated for the treatment of progressive MS. T cell receptor (TCR) analysis demonstrated that the manufacturing process for ATA188 consistently produces TCRs specific for three EBV antigens, EBNA1, LMP1 and LMP2, which are all implicated in MS. To evaluate the functionality of ATA188 following antigen exposure, this analysis also demonstrated the expression of functional activation markers on the T cells, as well as their proliferation potential. This interview took place during the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting 2021.