CAR-T
Blood centers have the donors, resources and community footprint drug sponsors need to solve supply chain issues around cell and gene therapies.
Bristol Myers Squibb is positioning arlo-cel for quadruple-class exposed patients, which could help reduce competition with an upcoming multiple myeloma CAR T therapy from Gilead Sciences, according to BMO Capital Markets.
After downsizing by 50% last year, Arsenal Biosciences is again laying off employees. This time, 99 people are getting cut as part of a strategic shift to focus the company’s R&D efforts on in vivo CAR T therapies.
Novartis suspended multiple studies of a CAR T candidate after three patients who received the therapy suffered fatal cases of immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic syndrome. BMS, meanwhile, paused some CAR T trials after separately observing “transient and reversible inflammatory events” with its therapy.
Thanks in part to the revolution cell therapy brought to treating blood cancers, the modality is now showing promise in some autoimmune applications. This expansion is poised to yield even wider benefits.
Biopharmas developing CAR T therapies for autoimmune indications face major barriers to maximizing the market. Advances in the provider ecosystem and clinical infrastructure, as well as access and education, will be key to launching at scale.
Setbacks to efforts to use Cellares’ automated platform to make an approved CAR-T cell therapy led BMS to terminate its partnership with the manufacturing specialist.
Johnson & Johnson secured rights to prizlon-cel in 2023 for $245 million upfront. The asset in June last year showed a 100% response rate as a second-line option in a Phase 1b study for 10 patients with relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma.
As part of the collaboration, Johnson & Johnson will have an exclusive option to acquire Sail Biomedicines for an additional $2.58 billion.
ElevateBio will be the primary source of Kyverna’s autologous CAR T cell therapy for anticipated U.S. and global launches in autoimmune indications.
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