Biotech Strategy Blog

Commentary on Science, Innovation & New Products with a focus on Oncology, Hematology & Cancer Immunotherapy

Posts tagged ‘CD19’

Development of Next Generation CAR T cell therapies

Now that at two CAR T cell therapies have been approved by the FDA in two indications, what does the future hold for new developments in both hematologic malignancies and solid tumours?

It was astonishing to explore the poster halls at AACR last month and see just how many new players and targets are emerging left, right and centre.

Last week we highlighted an up and coming new player on the scene, Mustang Bio, but what about the original pioneers in this niche and what are they up to these days?

To answer this question, we tracked down Dr Renier Brentjens at Memorial Sloan Kettering while in Chicago to learn more about his latest work and where he sees the future of CAR T cell therapy heading. It makes for a very interesting, and at times, surprising read…

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The dawn of a new beginning for Cellectis?

Paris – amazingly it’s now 3 years since we interviewed Cellectis (NASDAQ: $CLLS) CEO André Choulika and CSO Philippe Duchateau (See post: Can Cellectis revolutionise CAR T cell therapy):

Cellectis CSO CEO

Cellectis Senior Management – Drs Duchateau and Choulika

Since then, we’ve followed the company over time, including an interview with one of their leading scientists, Dr Julianne Smith at ASH 2014, followed by the initial results of their first allogeneic CAR T cell therapy UCART19 presented at #ASH15 by Professor Qasim.

It’s hard to believe 3 years have gone by so quickly! As regular readers know what we often do on BSB is follow stories longitudinally, so while in Paris for an Immuno-Oncology Summit we thought it a rather timely opportunity to revisit Cellectis and take stock of where they’re at and ask what the future may hold for them?

With the recent news that Gilead have acquired Kite Pharma, there’s going to be a lot of interest in what companies such as Cellectis are doing to bring allogeneic “off the shelf” CAR T cell therapy to market.

This is the penultimate post in our summer mini-series on gene editing and allogeneic CAR T cell therapy and features a candid interview with Dr Philippe Duchateau, Chief Scientific Officer, at Paris based Cellectis.

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AACR 2017 Preview 9

It’s finally time…

US Capitol Building, DC

By popular request from BSB readers, we have a CAR T cell therapy preview of the main abstracts to watch out for, including talks and posters, and what emerging themes to expect are likely to be.

If you are registered on the AACR site and signed in, then clicking on any of the abstracts highlighted in this review will enable you to add any interesting ones you fancy to your conference itinerary.

There’s a surprising amount to cover this year, especially when we consider the incredible work that’s ongoing to address a number of suboptimal aspects in the construct developments.  It’s continuing to progress at warp speed, so hold onto your hats and buckle down for our latest rock around the AACR clock.

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7 Things I Learned at #ASH16

San Diego – after “Flying Friday” where I flew from Munich to San Diego, Biotech Strategy Blog coverage of the 2016 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) is now done for another year.

Downtown San Diego during ASH 2016 With over 27,000 attendees – it’s the largest ASH annual meeting I’ve seen in 20 years of coming here!  ASH is definitely the pre-eminent global meeting for hematology and blood cancers.

As you might expect, the thought leaders at this event are super-busy, but we’ve already managed to catch up with a few, and we’ll be rolling out interviews in the “post-game show.”

Subscribers have been asking what’s really hot at ASH this weekend, so reflecting my interests and the sessions I went to, here are my seven highlights/learnings of ASH 2016 (so far). There’s a lot more data to come!

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Future of Cancer Immunotherapy

Port Sunglight SpringSpring has arrived in many parts of the world, and with it I am always reminded of William Wordsworth’s classic poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud:”

I wandered lonely as a cloud 
That floats on high o’er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host, of golden daffodils; 
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

 

So what does the future hold for cancer immunotherapy?

Inspired by Wordsworth, I’ve sat on my cloud and have looked at some of the recent review papers and thought pieces published by experts in the field. Do they offer a Jerry Maguire – like mission statement: “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business” or will we have to wait till AACR 2016 in New Orleans to learn more?

 

This is the latest in our pre-AACR 2016 annual meeting series. Subscribers can login to read more or you can purchase access.

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Is TIM–3 the next important checkpoint target?

One of the most important challenges in cancer immunotherapy is overcoming immune resistance. For example, even with the high response rates seen in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with CAR – T cell therapy, a significant number of patients relapse after an initial response.

Chinatown Honolulu

Chinatown, Honolulu 2016

Could immune resistance be reversed or prevented by the addition of appropriate checkpoint blockade? Which ones matter though, that is the critical question?  Rather than randomly picking ones to try, we need scientific evidence regarding these choices.

This post explores some of the latest data presented at the BMT Tandem meeting on the role of T cell immunoglobulin mucin–3 (TIM–3) and PD–1 upregulation in causing resistance.

If you’re not already a sub and want to read our coverage of ASH, BMT Tandem and the forthcoming AACR 2016 annual meeting, you can purchase individual access below. This week only – inspired by the story of Eddie Aikau in Hawaii – we have a special offer that we’ve never done before (and may never do again) of $75 off a quarterly subscription. The deal ends tomorrow Friday March 4th at 12 noon HST. Check it out!

Subscribers can login to read more about the latest data on how alternative checkpoint inhibitors may have a role to play in cancer treatment.  Welcome to the new folks who signed up this week, good to see y’all!

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ASH15 Multiple Myeloma Preview

This year has been an unprecedented Grand Cru year for the field of multiple myeloma, with no less than four drugs approved by the FDA to date… the fourth one just this morning while writing this preview!

  • Panobinostat (Farydak) in relapsed/refractory disease in combination with bortexomib plus dexamethsone after at least 2 prior therapies.
  • Daratumumab (Darzalex) received accelerated approval based on phase 2 data and is human CD38-directed monoclonal antibody that is indicated for the treatment of patients who have received at least three prior lines of therapy.
  • Ixazomib (Ninlaro) is the first oral proteasome inhibitor and is approved in combination with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone, in people who have received at least one prior treatment.
  • Elotuzumab (Empliciti) is a monoclonal antibody against CS–1/SLAMF7 approved today in combination with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone after 1–3 lines of prior therapy.

There are also many promising new agents in development and quite a few that may well not make it to market as a result of newer, better tolerated agents coming through.

To learn more about our insights on multiple myeloma, subscribers can log in to read our latest ASH 2015 Preview.

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Will CAR T cells give new therapies for NHL and CLL a run for their money?

During the recent American Society of Hematology meeting, much of the focus in immuno-oncology was squarely on the pediatric and adult data using the chimerica antigen receptor T cell product being developed by Novartis, CTL019, in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP, not to be confused with the chemotherapy regimen!) and U Penn, respectively. We wrote about that data earlier this year.

There are, hovever, other interesting CAR T cell therapies in clinical development, including those from Juno (based on the MSK and Fred Hutchinson partnership), Bluebird in partnership with Celgene and one that actually had data at ASH, which didn’t receive much attention from the NCI and Kite Pharma. This therapy was evaluated in a trial of non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) patients.

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