Allogene Therapeutics Presents Data on Dagger™, a Next Generation AlloCAR T™ Platform Technology
02 February 2023 - 6:55AM
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR
T (AlloCAR T™) products for cancer, presented preclinical data
highlighting the Company’s next generation DaggerTM platform
technology at the Emerging Cellular Therapies at the Forefront of
Cancer Immunotherapy Keystone Symposia in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
The Dagger technology, first unveiled at the Company’s R&D
Showcase in November 2022, is designed to resist rejection of
AlloCAR T cells by the host immune cells, enabling a prolonged
window of persistence during which AlloCAR T cells can expand and
actively target and destroy cancer cells. Dagger is a component of
Allogene’s anti-CD70 product candidate ALLO-316, which is being
evaluated in TRAVERSE, a Phase 1 study of patients with
relapsed/refractory renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
“We are excited by the potential of this proprietary technology
to enhance AlloCAR T cell function by preventing premature
rejection of the cells while potentially reducing dependence on
other lymphodepletion strategies,” said Barbra Sasu, Ph.D., Chief
Scientific Officer at Allogene. “The early clinical experience with
ALLO-316 in advanced renal cell carcinoma suggests Dagger can
meaningfully enhance AlloCAR T cell expansion and persistence. We
are keen to apply this technology to other product candidates
targeting both hematologic and solid tumors.”
The Dagger platform arms AlloCAR T cells with a CD70-targeting
receptor designed to recognize and deplete CD70 positive host cells
while also masking the CD70 molecule expressed on the AlloCAR T
cells themselves, preventing fratricide. CD70 is expressed on
activated T cells and NK cells, and by selectively depleting
alloreactive host cells, Dagger can potentially prevent the immune
rejection of AlloCAR T cells. The results from these pre-clinical
studies show that:
- A CD70 Dagger
construct was optimized to selectively eliminate alloreactive T
cells, enabling enhanced AlloCAR T cell survival in several in
vitro models of rejection
- Allogeneic CAR T
cells expressing dual CD19 CAR and CD70 Dagger receptors
demonstrated the ability to simultaneously kill CD19-positive tumor
cells and resist rejection and fratricide
- CD19 AlloCAR T cells
armed with a CD70 Dagger were endowed with dual specificity and
prevented CD19 antigen loss dependent escape by tumor cells in
vitro and in vivo
The Company has pursued an integrated strategy within Research
and Development aimed at matching technology with insights obtained
from the clinic to improve patient outcomes. In addition to
ALLO-316, the Company plans to deploy Dagger technology to enhance
the persistence and activity of next generation AlloCAR T
products.
About ALLO-316ALLO-316, an AlloCAR T
investigational product targets CD70, which is highly expressed in
renal cell carcinoma (RCC). CD70 is also selectively expressed in
several cancers, creating the potential for ALLO-316 to be
developed across a variety of both hematologic malignancies and
solid tumors. The ongoing Phase 1 TRAVERSE trial is designed to
evaluate the safety, tolerability, and activity of ALLO-316 in
patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell RCC. In March 2022,
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track
Designation (FTD) based on the potential of ALLO-316 to address the
unmet need for patients with difficult to treat RCC who have failed
standard RCC therapies.
About Allogene TherapeuticsAllogene
Therapeutics, with headquarters in South San Francisco, is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of
allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (AlloCAR T™) products
for cancer. Led by a management team with significant experience in
cell therapy, Allogene is developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf”
CAR T cell candidates with the goal of delivering readily available
cell therapy on-demand, more reliably, and at greater scale to more
patients. For more information, please visit www.allogene.com and
follow @AllogeneTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes
of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms
such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed,"
"continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans,"
"intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words
that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify
these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections,
outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other
things: the ability to advance ALLO-316; the ability to deploy
Dagger technology to enhance the persistence and activity of next
generation AlloCAR T products; the potential benefits of Dagger
Technology; and the potential benefits of AlloCAR T. Various
factors may cause differences between Allogene’s expectations and
actual results as discussed in greater detail in Allogene’s filings
with the SEC, including without limitation in its Form 8-K
filed on November 29, 2022 and under the “Risk Factors”
heading of its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2022. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press
release speak only as of the date of this press release. Allogene
assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
after the date of this press release.
AlloCAR T™ and Dagger™ are trademarks of Allogene
Therapeutics, Inc.
Allogene’s AlloCAR T™ programs utilize Cellectis technologies.
The anti-CD70 AlloCAR T programs are licensed exclusively from
Cellectis by Allogene and Allogene holds global development and
commercial rights to these AlloCAR T programs.
Allogene Media/Investor Contact:Christine
CassianoChief Communications Officer(714)
552-0326Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com
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