On August 4, 2021 Celyad Oncology SA (Euronext & Nasdaq: CYAD) (the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies for cancer, reported an update on its financial results and recent business developments for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2021 (Press release, Celyad, AUG 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234585924]).

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"We continue to blaze a path forward by developing new technologies to advance allogeneic CAR T therapies, including our proprietary shRNA platform for allogeneic CAR T production and ‘armored’ CAR capabilities with co-expression of secreting cytokines, starting with IL-18. The innovations we are making through our clinical development pipeline and new technologies were the focus of our R&D day last month. This is an exciting time in our Company’s history as we plan for a steady stream of milestones in the second half of 2021," commented Filippo Petti, Chief Executive Officer of Celyad Oncology. "We plan on announcing multiple clinical updates in the next six months that are expected to help further the progress of our lead programs and proprietary shRNA platform for the development of next-generation allogeneic CAR Ts."

Second Quarter 2021 and Recent Business Highlights

•Dr. Charles Morris was appointed as Chief Medical Officer in April 2021.
•Preliminary data from the Phase 1 IMMUNICY-1 trial of CYAD-211 for the treatment of r/r MM were announced at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2021 Virtual Congress.
•Research & Development Day held on July 20, 2021, during which the management team provided:
•Updates on the allogeneic CAR T clinical candidates CYAD-211 and CYAD-101.
•Highlights from the latest research from its proprietary shRNA platform, including the introduction of CYAD-203 – a novel allogeneic, IL-18-armored CAR T candidate for solid tumor now in IND-enabling studies.
•Acquisition of an exclusive license from the Moffitt Cancer Center for an antibody directed to Tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG-72), which will form the basis of a T cell engager to be used with our shRNA platform technology.
Pipeline Update

CYAD-101 – Allogeneic TIM-based NKG2D CAR T for mCRC

CYAD-101 is the Company’s first-in-class, allogeneic CAR T candidate engineered to co-express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) based on the NKG2D receptor and the novel inhibitory peptide TCR Inhibitory Molecule (TIM).

•To the Company’s knowledge, CYAD-101 is the first investigational allogeneic CAR T candidate to generate evidence of clinical activity for the treatment of a solid tumor indication. This is based on data reported from the dose-escalation segment of the alloSHRINK Phase 1 trial evaluating CYAD-101 following FOLFOX (combination of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin) preconditioning chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
•CYAD-101 following FOLFOX preconditioning chemotherapy was observed to be well-tolerated with no evidence of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD). In addition, two of 15 patients from the dose-escalation segment of the alloSHRINK trial achieved a confirmed partial response (PR). Median progression-free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) from the dose-escalation segment was 3.9 months and 10.6 months, respectively