Immunotherapies, including cellular immunotherapies, have dramatically impacted the treatment of cancer. Recent advances in the field, such as autologous (patient-derived) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies, have yielded remarkable results in relatively rare blood-based cancers. These results have driven an explosion in the research and development of different cellular products, including both autologous and allogeneic…
Why research on hematologic malignancies is ramping up
Oncology has benefited from a wave of advances in recent decades. From 1991 to 2018, the age-adjusted overall cancer death rate dropped 31%, according to an analysis from American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). That death rate dropped 2.4% between 2017 and 2018, marking the most significant annual reduction. The reasons for such improvements are multifaceted,…
Kyverna Therapeutics wins $85 million in Series B financing
The cell therapy company Kyverna Therapeutics (Emeryville, California) has closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B funding round led by Northpond Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to launch a Phase 2 trial for its lead asset, KYV-101, in the first half of 2022. KYV-101 is an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell…
How first-generation outcomes data can advance future cell therapies
The cell therapy industry is in the early stages of growth and development, with only a few having secured regulatory approval. This approval comes with regulatory requirements that ensure safety, including patient outcomes data collection for up to 15 years post-infusion. While daunting, the strings attached to these first-generation therapy approvals help understand safety and…
Janssen’s global head of R&D opens up on CAR-T research, data science and more
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen division (NYSE:JNJ) was among the first drug companies to prioritize oncology research. The company has more than three decades of experience in the domain. Recently, Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy has become one of the most exciting areas of research for cancer and other diseases for the company, said Mathai Mammen, global…
Allogene Therapeutics’ stock drops 46% after FDA puts hold on AlloCAR-T trials
Today, the allogeneic CAR-T company Allogene Therapeutics (NSDQ:ALLO) saw its stock dip to the lowest level since its IPO in 2018. The company announced that FDA had placed a hold on its AlloCAR T clinical trials after the identification of a chromosomal abnormality in a patient enrolled in its ALPHA2 study (NCT04416984). That trial was…
Appeals court invalidates $1.2 billion fine against Gilead Sciences
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tossed a $1.2 billion fine against Gilead Sciences after invalidating portions of a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center patent licensed to a Bristol Myers Squibb subsidiary. The patent was the basis for the previous ruling against Foster City, Calif.–based Gilead, which related to patent infringement claims…