Cell Therapy – VJRegenMed

Results from the first-in-human trial of huCART19-IL18 in patients with R/R NHL and CLL

Anya Kerkache — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:11:27 +0000

Jakub Svoboda, MD, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, describes the mechanism of action of huCART19-IL18, a 4th generation autologous CAR T-cell product, and outlines findings from a first-in-human trial investigating the efficacy of huCART19-IL18 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (NCT04684563). Results from this study so far have been encouraging, with no unexpected toxicities being recorded and some patients already achieving complete response. This interview took place at the 64th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition congress in New Orleans, LA.

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CYP-001 in adults with steroid-resistant GvHD

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:07 +0000

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have shown promising efficacy as a cell therapy. Ross Macdonald, PhD, Cynata Therapeutics, Melbourne, Australia, discusses results from a Phase I trial (NCT02923375) assessing CYP-001, a MSC-based cell therapy in patients with steroid resistant graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). For patients who progress from corticosteroids, treatment options remain poor and mortality remains high. CYP-001 resulted in a complete response in over half of the cohort and after a two year follow-up, a survival rate of over 50% was reported. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

SCUlpTOR: CYP-004 in osteoarthritis

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:06 +0000

Ross Macdonald, PhD, Cynata Therapeutics, Melbourne, Australia, discusses the Phase III SCUlpTOR trial (ACTRN12620000870954) assessing CYP-004, a novel mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs)-based cell therapy for patients with osteoarthritis. Whilst previous studies investigating autologous stem cell therapies have shown promise, there is an unmet need for curative therapies. The randomized double blind trial will assess the investigational therapy in 440 patients with degenerative osteoarthritis. The interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:05 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, provides an overview of PDC*line, a novel cell line derived from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs) in the bones of patients with leukemia. The cell line is more potent than allogeneic or autologous myeloid cells and are not rejected in humans. He additionally highlights the ease of manufacturing cancer vaccines from PDC*line due to the consistency of the cell line. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Developing a therapeutic cancer vaccine for patients with NSCLC

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:04 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, comments the development of PDC*lung, a novel therapeutic plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC)-derived vaccine for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). He describes the mechanism of action of the vaccine, where irradiated PDCs are loaded with peptides encoding various lung tumor antigens. A Phase I/II trial (NCT03970746) will assess the vaccine in 64 patients in either a high or low dose. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Assessing PDC*mel, dendritic cell-based vaccine in melanoma

Simon Ng — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:17:04 +0000

Eric Halioua, PDC*line Pharma, Liege, Belgium, discusses the development of PDC*mel, a plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC)-derived vaccine for patients with melanoma. The investigational therapy consists of PDC*line loaded with four melanoma peptides and have the ability to be stored in liquid nitrogen. He also describes a Phase I trial (NCT01863108), which tested the vaccine in three different doses. This interview was conducted during Meeting on the Mediterranean 2022.

Streamlining cell therapy manufacturing with CliniMACS Prodigy

Simon Ng — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:38:41 +0000

Saskia Rösch, PhD, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, gives an overview of CliniMACS Prodigy, a novel next-generation automated cell processing platform that aims to separate and process cell cultures for the manufacturing of cell therapies. The closed, scalable system enables the production of good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliant products of consistent quality in a safe and clean environment. CliniMACS Prodigy additionally is flexible in a centralized or decentralized setting and can be used for various cell types including induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Implementing automation technology in the CGT space

Simon Ng — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:38:40 +0000

The advent of automation has brought improvements in the manufacturing of advanced therapies in terms of reducing the number of staff needed, cost, and safety. Saskia Rösch, PhD, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, discusses potential barriers developers might face in automating their manufacturing processes. Companies will need to make sure the product can be translated from a research to clinical setting, as well as if the reagents can be scaled-up if necessary. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Utilizing flow cytometry in CAR T-cell research

Simon Ng — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:38:38 +0000

Saskia Rösch, PhD, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, comments on the importance of flow cytometry in the characterization of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells. Standardization of flow cytometry techniques is necessary to optimize CAR T-cell therapies, and Dr Rösch discusses automated workflow solutions offered by Miltenyi, as well as CAR detectors that can quantify CAR T-cells in a given sample. She additionally highlights a consortium that will create a gold standard for the analysis of engineered CAR T-cells. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Applications of stem cell gene therapy beyond genetic diseases

admin_vjr_user — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 12:21:18 +0000

Luigi Naldini, MD, PhD, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milano, Italy, comments on the potential application of stem cell gene therapy in oncology. In recent years, growing evidence supporting the efficacy and tolerability of this technology in genetic diseases has suggested it as a promising strategy to target tumors by engineering stem cells to target the tumor or to deliver a therapeutic agent. This interview took place at the Transplantation & Cellular Therapy (TCT) Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR® 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah.