Gracell Biotechnologies Announces Multiple Advancements of TruUCAR Allogeneic CAR-T Platform
Gracell Biotechnologies Announces Multiple Advancements of TruUCAR Allogeneic CAR-T Platform
Feb 22, 2022
An abstract providing early results of a first-in-human clinical study on GC502 in r/r B-ALL patients has been accepted for poster presentation at the
Another lead product candidate of the TruUCAR platform is GC027, an allogeneic CAR-T therapy targeting CD7 for the treatment of adults with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Gracell is currently investigating GC027 in a Phase 1 IIT study in
"We are excited to present our preliminary data for GC502, our second TruUCAR-T product candidate, in patients with r/r B-ALL at the AACR annual meeting," said Dr.
"GC502 is the second product in development based on our innovative TruUCAR platform. We are very pleased to see the preliminary clinical evidence that applicability of TruUCAR platform to additional disease indications could potentially be manifold by switching the second CAR against the tumor antigens selected. We look forward to continued development of additional off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies based on this platform," said Dr.
About GC502
GC502 is a TruUCAR-enabled CD19/CD7 dual-directed, off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T product candidate that is being studied for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. GC502 is manufactured using T cells from non-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched healthy donors. An enhancer molecule is embedded in the basic construct of TruUCAR to enhance proliferation of TruUCAR T cells. Optimized for CD19/CD7 dual-CAR functionality and in vivo durability, GC502 has demonstrated robust anti-tumor efficacy with promising potential to suppress host versus graft (HvG) rejection in preclinical models.
About B-ALL
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer characterized by proliferation of immature lymphocytes in the bone marrow, which can involve either T lymphocytes (T-ALL), or B lymphocytes (B-ALL). Globally, approximately 64,000 patients are diagnosed with ALL every year with approximately 6,000 diagnosed in
About GC027
TruUCAR-enabled GC027 is a first-in-human, off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T therapy targeting CD7, currently being developed for the treatment of T-ALL in adults. GC027 is manufactured from T cells of non-HLA matched healthy donors. Developed on our proprietary TruUCAR platform, GC027 utilizes dual-function CAR to specifically target a patient's own T cells and natural killer (NK) cells that would otherwise be directed against the foreign, or allogeneic, CAR-T cells resulting in rejection by the patients. This novel design allows this allogeneic cell therapy to survive a patient's immune system without the need for combination treatment with additional potent immunosuppressant and represents a differentiated monotherapy approach. Additional information about the study is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov using identifier: NCT04264078.
About T-ALL
T-cell malignancies are a group of cancers involving T lymphocytes, including acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia or T-ALL. Standard of care treatment for T-ALL includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplantation. Standard chemotherapy regimens only result in 30%- 40% response rate with 6 months median overall survival among responders. Patients with T-cell malignancies usually have high relapse and mortality rates. Relapsed patients have dismal prognosis with very limited treatment options and <10% of patients surviving beyond 5 years. Due to shared common surface antigens and potential contamination by malignant cells, development of CAR-T cell therapies for T-ALL is lagged behind. In addition, no new therapies have been approved for the treatment of T-ALL since the approval of Nelarabine (marketed by GlaxoSmithKline) by the FDA in 2005. Globally, approximately 64,000 patients are diagnosed with ALL every year with over approximately 6,000 expected to be diagnosed in
About TruUCAR
TruUCAR is Gracell's proprietary technology platform and is designed to generate high-quality allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies that can be administered "off-the-shelf" at lower cost and with greater convenience. With differentiated design enabled by gene editing, TruUCAR is designed to control host versus graft rejection (HvG) as well as graft versus host disease (GvHD) without the need for being co-administered with immunosuppressive drugs. The novel dual-CAR design allows tumor antigen-CAR moiety to target malignant cells, while the CD7 CAR moiety is designed to suppress HvG response, enabling TruUCAR T cell to be a stand-alone therapy.
About Gracell
Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. ("Gracell") is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing breakthrough cell therapies. Leveraging its pioneering FasTCAR, TruUCAR and SMART CARTM technology platforms, Gracell is developing a rich clinical-stage pipeline of multiple autologous and allogeneic product candidates with the potential to overcome major industry challenges that persist with conventional CAR-T therapies, including lengthy manufacturing time, suboptimal production quality, high therapy cost and lack of effective CAR-T therapies for solid tumors. For more information on Gracell, please visit www.gracellbio.com. Follow @GracellBio on LinkedIn.
Cautionary Noted Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected trading commencement and closing date of the offering. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Gracell's most recent annual report on Form 20-F as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Gracell's subsequent filings with the
Media contacts
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Investor contacts
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[1] Data source: Clarivate | DRG: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Epidemiology |
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[2] D.I. Marks, |
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