Jakub Svoboda, MD, On Improving CR Rates With Next-generation CAR T Therapies

“A significant portion of patients who receive CAR Ts these days, the second-generation CAR T products, will not achieve long-term remissions. So, our project using the novel fourth generation, or armored CAR T, is part of the effort to really improve the outcomes and overcome some of the limitations that the current CART products have.”

huCART19-IL18 has demonstrated promising safety and efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in a first-in-human trial (NCT04684563). huCART19-IL18 is a 4th generation, armored, autologous, anti-CD19 CAR and IL-18-expressing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product.

Data from the first-in-human study were presented by Jakub Svoboda, MD, associate professor of medicine, University of Pennsylvania, at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, held December 10-12, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana. CGTLive spoke with Svoboda to learn more about unmet needs that remain in patients with NHL and CLL and how next-generation CAR T therapies, including huCART19-IL18, have advantages over older products that may help to address these issues.

REFERENCE

Svoboda J, Gerson J, Landsburg D, et al. Interleukin-18 secreting autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cells (huCART19-IL18) in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas relapsed or refractory to prior CAR T-cell therapy. Presented at: 64th ASH Annual Meeting, December 10-12, 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana.