On April 28, 2017 Celyad (Euronext Brussels and Paris, and NASDAQ:CYAD), a leader in the discovery and development of engineered cell therapies, reported the dosing of the first patient of the second dose in the solid tumor arm of its THINK trial (THerapeutic Immunotherapy with NKR-2) (Press release, Celyad, APR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234518722]). This first ovarian cancer patient has been dosed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York).

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At the first solid tumor dose-level, one pancreatic and two colorectal cancer patients were successfully dosed. None of these patients experienced dose limiting adverse events.

THINK is a multinational open-label Phase I study to assess the safety and clinical activity of multiple administrations of autologous NKR-2 T-cells in seven refractory cancers including five solid tumors (colorectal, ovarian, bladder, triple-negative breast and pancreatic cancers) and two hematological tumors (acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma). These cancer indications were selected based on strong preclinical evidence and NKG2D ligand expression.

The THINK trial is being conducted in the US and in Europe. It contains a dose escalation and an extension stage. The dose escalation is conducted in parallel in the solid and liquid cancer groups, while the extension phase will evaluate in parallel each tumor independently.

The dose escalation design includes three dose levels adjusted to body weight: up to 3×108, 1×109 and 3×109 NKR-2 T-cells. At each dose, the patients receive three successive administrations, two weeks apart, of NKR-2 T-cells at the specified dose.

"The opening of the first U.S. arm of the THINK study is an exciting milestone, and one we are very proud to contribute to", said Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, FRCOG, FACOG, Deputy Director of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the co-Principal Investigator leading Roswell Park’s involvement in the international basket trial. "NKR-2 represents a unique approach to CAR T- cell therapy, and we hope that our efforts help to establish a new treatment option that will benefit many people with cancer". Dr. Odunsi is also Chair of Gynecologic Oncology, M. Steven Piver Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Executive Director of the Center for Immunotherapy at the Buffalo, N.Y., comprehensive cancer center.


Dr. Frédéric Lehmann, VP Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Celyad added: "Preliminary results from the first dose-level are encouraging, further reinforcing the favorable safety profile of NKR-2. The THINK study is progressing very well and we look forward to the completion of the dose-escalation stage of the trial and the initiation of the expansion segments to confirm the encouraging clinical signal seen in our previous Phase I study. The active participation of a first key cancer institute in U.S. with the NKR-2 manufacturing in Europe demonstrates the ability of Celyad to conduct a global clinical development."