DEVELOPING NEXT-GENERATION CAR-T AND OTHER CELL THERAPIES
KITE AND HUMANIGEN ANNOUNCE CLINICAL COLLABORATION TO EVALUATE INVESTIGATIONAL COMBINATION OF YESCARTA® (AXICABTAGENE CILOLEUCEL) WITH LENZILUMAB IN RELAPSED/REFRACTORY DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA
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GM-CSF has been identified, through clinical correlative analysis and preclinical modeling, as a potential key signal in the inflammatory cascade triggering toxicities associated with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy
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Emerging pre-clinical evidence suggests that lenzilumab inhibition of GM-CSF may have the potential to disrupt CAR T cell mediated inflammation without disrupting CAR T cell anti-tumor efficacy
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Phase 1/2 Multi-Center Clinical Trial to Begin Enrolling in Q4 2019
“This collaboration with Kite will help validate the work Humanigen has done in understanding the pathophysiology of the inflammatory cascade as well as the potential role GM-CSF plays in influencing CAR T cell treatment outcomes.”
HUMANIGEN STUDY OF GM-CSF NEUTRALIZATION WITH CAR-T THERAPY SELECTED FOR FRONT COVER OF CURRENT EDITION OF ‘BLOOD’®, THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY (ASH)
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Enhanced anti-tumor activity, improved overall survival, and an exponential increase in CAR-T cell proliferation was observed with GM-CSF neutralization
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Lenzilumab (an anti-GM-CSF antibody) used in combination with CAR-T significantly reduces neuro-inflammation, prevents cytokine release syndrome and improves durable control of leukemic disease
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GM-CSF neutralization with lenzilumab is a next generation strategy to improve efficacy, safety and durability of CAR-T
“This work represents a significant advance in understanding and preventing toxicities after CAR-T cell therapy. Our results strongly suggest that modulating myeloid cell behavior through GM-CSF blockade helps control CAR-T cell mediated toxicities and reduce their immunosuppressive features to improve leukemic control.”
The link to the publication is available for review at:
