On May 3, 2018 Celyad (Euronext Brussels and Paris, and NASDAQ: CYAD) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of CAR-T cell therapies, reported the publication later today of a patient case study from the hematological arm of its THINK Phase I trial in the journal Haematologica1 (Press release, Celyad, MAY 3, 2018, View Source [SID1234526052]). The publication, entitled "NKG2D-based Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy Induced Remission in a Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient" is authored by the trial investigators at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla. and by Celyad’s scientific team.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
The publication details the first objective response to CAR-T in relapsed/refractory AML using CYAD-01, Celyad’s Natural Killer Group 2D (NKG2D) chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, without pre-conditioning lymphodepletion. The patient received CYAD-01 infusions at the initial dose level of 3×108 cells every 2 weeks for 3 administrations, achieving a morphologic leukemia-free state (MLFS2) at 3-months which enabled the patient to benefit from an allo-hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT). The patient achieved a complete molecular remission and remains in remission 9 months post study enrollment. CYAD-01 was well tolerated with no significant toxicities. The demonstrated first objective response to any CAR-T in relapsed/refractory AML without preconditioning chemotherapy highlights the potential of CYAD-01 as a treatment for AML.
"Our results demonstrate the validity of NKG2D as a target, in particular in the context of refractory AML and without other intervening treatments nor preconditioning", commented Frédéric Lehmann, VP Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Celyad. "We look forward to continue our clinical development plan for our NKG2D CAR based platform and explore the various conditions within which this therapy could provide benefits to patients with end stage cancers."
Dr. David Sallman, Assistant Member in the Malignant Hematology Department of Moffitt Cancer Center, added: "The THINK study case report provides the first clinical validity of CYAD-01 as a tumor-specific antigen-receptor and AML as a disease sensitive to gene-engineered cell therapies. As antigen targeting offers significant challenges in AML, this outcome brings hope for the further use of gene-engineered T-cells for patients with AML that have run out of therapeutic options. It’s all the more striking that this outcome was observed without any prior lymphodepletion highlighting the potential of using a physiologic antigen-receptor."