“MC”-driven CIDeCARs proliferate, persist and eliminate tumors in
preclinical studies
CHICAGO -- (Business Wire)
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLCM), a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel
cellular immunotherapies, announced the presentation of a poster at the
51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
highlighting the potent anti-tumor effects of CAR T cells constructed
with its novel, proprietary, dual co-stimulatory domain, “MC”
(MyD88/CD40). MC is incorporated alongside Bellicum’s proprietary
CaspaCIDe® safety switch in the Company’s CIDeCAR™
product candidates, including BPX-401.
The studies evaluated in vivo tumor-killing abilities of two
different CIDeCARs: CD19-targeted CIDeCAR cells (BPX-401) were evaluated
in a Raji lymphoma model, and Her2-targeted CIDeCAR cells were evaluated
in an SK-BR-3 breast cancer model.
Study Highlights:
-
MC co-stimulation resulted in increased T cell proliferation and
enhanced efficacy in lymphoma and solid tumor models in vivo
compared to control CAR T cells that included the more commonly
utilized co-stimulatory molecule, CD28.
-
The Company’s CD19-targeted CAR (BPX-401) elicited dose-dependent
elevation of cytokines, analogous to cytokine release syndrome, but
cytokine levels were rapidly normalized upon administration of
rimiducid, without loss of tumor control.
-
The percentage of BPX-401 cells eliminated upon rimiducid
administration was dose-dependent across a 2-3 log range.
“We believe the development of more potent CAR T cells will be critical
to success in bulky lymphomas and solid tumors,” commented Tom Farrell,
Bellicum’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “These data suggest
that our novel, dual co-stimulatory domain, MC, enhances anti-tumor
efficacy compared to traditional CAR constructs. Furthermore, the risk
of toxicity can be mitigated through our proprietary CaspaCIDe safety
switch, potentially in such a way that therapeutic benefit can be
maintained even when the switch is activated.”
The poster, titled “MyD88/CD40-based costimulation to enhance survival
and proliferation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells,”
can be accessed on the Events
and Presentations page of the Company’s website.
About Bellicum Pharmaceuticals
Bellicum is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering and developing novel cellular immunotherapies for various
forms of cancer, including hematological cancers and solid tumors, as
well as orphan inherited blood disorders. The Company is using its
proprietary Chemical Induction of Dimerization, or CID, technology
platform to engineer and control components of the immune system in real
time. Bellicum is developing next-generation product candidates in some
of the most important areas of cellular immunotherapy, including
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT, CAR-T and TCR cell
therapy, and dendritic cell vaccines. More information can be found at www.bellicum.com.
*CaspaCIDe® is a trademark registered with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office.
CIDeCAR™ is a trademarks of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Bellicum 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 our intentions,
beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations
concerning, among other things: the timing of our clinical trials and of
our research and development activities relating to BPX -401, CaspaCIDe
and CIDeCAR and our expectations regarding our other programs. Various
factors may cause differences between Bellicum’s expectations and actual
results as discussed in greater detail in Bellicum’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation our
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Any
forward-looking statements that Bellicum makes in this press release
speak only as of the date of this press release. Bellicum assumes no
obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this
press release.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150530005015/en/
Contacts:
Investors:
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals
Alan Musso,
832-384-1116
CFO
amusso@bellicum.com
or
Media:
BMC
Communications
Brad Miles
C:917-570-7340
O: 646-513-3117
bmiles@bmccommunications.com
Source: Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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