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GLPG5201: CD19 CAR-T in relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (lymphoid neoplasms). It is characterized by the excessive and uncontrolled proliferation of functionally incompetent B lymphocytes from monoclonal origin. CLL and small cell lymphocyte leukemia (SLL) are essentially the same type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), with the only difference the location where the primary cancer occurs. CLL affects B-cells in the blood and bone marrow and SLL cancer cells are located in lymph nodes and/or the spleen. Richter’s Transformation (RT) is an uncommon clinicopathological condition observed in patients with CLL. It is characterized by the sudden transformation of the CLL into a significantly more aggressive form of large cell lymphoma, and occurs in approximately 2 – 10%16 of all CLL patients. CLL/SLL usually follows an indolent course and is an incurable disease. Patients who develop relapsed and refractory disease and become resistant to new agents have a dismal prognosis and a high unmet medical need for new therapeutic options such as CAR-T cells. With an estimated incidence rate of 4.7 new cases per 100,000 individuals, CLL/SLL are the most prevalent lymphoid malignancies and the most common forms of adult leukemia in the US and in Europe17.

EUPLAGIA-1 is an ongoing Phase 1/2 study in heavily pre-treated patients with rrCLL and rrSLL, with or without RT, to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of GLPG5201, a non-frozen CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care.

GLPG5201 is our second generation anti-CD19/4-1BB CAR-T product candidate, administered as an intravenous infusion of a fresh product candidate in a single fixed dose.

Patients with CD19 rrCLL or rrSLL with >2 lines of therapy are eligible to participate, and patients with RT are eligible regardless of prior therapy. The primary objective of the Phase 1 part of the study is to evaluate safety and determine the recommended dose for the Phase 2 part of the study. The dose levels that are evaluated in the Phase 1 part of the study are 35x106 (DL1), 100x106 (DL2) and 300x106 (DL3) CAR+ viable T cells. The primary objective of the Phase 2 part of the study is to assess the ORR and the secondary objectives include the analysis of the CRR, duration of response, progression free survival, overall survival, safety pharmacokinetic profile, and feasibility of point-of-care manufacturing.

We presented initial encouraging safety and efficacy data from the EUPLAGIA -1 Phase 1 study during a poster session at the EBMT-EHA 5th European CAR-T-cell Meeting in Rotterdam in February 2023 (EUPLAGIA-1 Phase 1 study data cut-off date: 9 January 2023). At the moment of analysis on 9 January 2023, 7 patients diagnosed with rrCLL (4 patients of which have RT) were enrolled in the study (n=4 at dose level 1 (DL1); n=3 at dose level 2 (DL2). All patients received GLPG5201 as a fresh infusion with a median vein-to-vein time of 7 days.19

The initial results from these 7 patients that were eligible for efficacy analysis (EUPLAGIA -1 Phase 1 cut-off date: 9 January 2023) indicated that a 7 day vein-to-vein time was feasible and that the 'fresh' CAR-T product candidate demonstrated strong and consistent in vivo CAR-T expansion levels. Moreover, the initial efficacy results were encouraging with an observed ORR of 100%. A CR was observed in 6 out of 7 patients (86%) and in all 4 patients with RT. A duration of response of up to 7.9 months has been reported and follow-up is ongoing. Only 1 patient (DL1) progressed (progressive disease after partial response, (PR)) and had a CD19-negative relapse with confirmed Richter’s transformation.

In the safety analysis of these 7 patients, adverse events were consistent with the known toxicities of CD19 CAR-T treatment. None of the patients experienced a cytokine release syndrome (CRS) higher than grade 2 at both dose levels and no immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) was reported. No dose limiting toxicities (DLTs) were reported and the majority of grade 3 adverse events were hematological. Only one serious adverse event was reported at DL2 with a patient experiencing a CRS grade 2, but the event was resolved after 7 days.

The EUPLAGIA-1 study is continuing to enrol rrCLL and rrSLL patients in Europe, including patients with RT, and we aim to provide Phase 1 topline results around mid-2023.

EUPLAGIA CD19 CAR-T Ph1/2a in r/rCLL

Evaluating feasibility, safety and efficacy of point-of-care CD19 CAR-T

EUPLAGIA CD19 CAR-T Ph1/2a in r/rCLL (graphic)
DL, dose level; r/rCLL, relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia
CAR-T
Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (also known as CAR-T cells) are T cells that have been genetically engineered to produce an artificial T cell receptor for use in immunotherapy
CD19
CD19 is a protein found on the surface of B-cells, a type of white blood cell. Since CD19 is a hallmark of B-cells, the protein has been used to diagnose cancers that arise from this type of cell - notably B-cell lymphomas
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is the most common leukemia in adults. It is a type of cancer that starts in cells that become certain white blood cells (called lymphocytes) in the bone marrow. The cancer (leukemia) cells originate in the bone marrow and migrate to the bloodstream
Complete Response Rate (CRR)
Term used for the absence of all detectable cancer after the treatment is completed
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS)
Condition that develops when your immune system responds too aggressively to infection or after certain types of immunotherapy, such as CAR-T-cell therapy
EUPLAGIA-1
EUPLAGIA-1 Phase 1/2 study with point-of-care manufactured CD19 CAR-T candidate, GLPG5201, in patients with replapsed/ refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (rrCLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (rrSLL), with or without Richter’s transformation (RT)
Efficacy
Effectiveness for intended use
GLPG5201
A second generation anti-CD19/4-1BB CAR-T product candidate currently in Phase 1/2 study in rrCLL/SLL with or wthout RT
Lymphocyte
Type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of cancer that begins in the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's germ-fighting immune system. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, white blood cells called lymphocytes grow abnormally and form tumors throughout the body
Objective Response Rate (ORR)
The response rate is the percentage of patients on whom a therapy has some defined effect; for example, the cancer shrinks or disappears after treatment. When used as a clinical endpoint for trials of cancer treatments, this is often called the objective response rate
Phase 1
First stage of clinical testing of an investigational drug designed to assess the safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics of a drug, usually performed in a small number of healthy human volunteers
Phase 2
Second stage of clinical testing, usually performed in no more than several hundred patients, in order to determine efficacy, tolerability and the dose to use
Point-of-care
Drug treatment is provided close to or near the patient
Product candidate
Substance that has satisfied the requirements of early preclinical testing and has been selected for development, starting with formal preclinical safety evaluation followed by clinical testing for the treatment of a certain disorder in humans
Refractory
"Refractory" refers to a patient with cancer that is/has become resistant to, or does not respond to, treatment
Relapsed
"Relapsed" refers to a patient with cancer that develops cancer again after a period of improvement
Richter's transformation
Richter's Transformation (RT) is an uncommon clinicopathological condition observed in patients with CLL. It is characterized by the sudden transformation of the CLL into a significantly more aggressive form of large cell lymphoma, and occurs in approximately 2-10% of all CLL patients.
Small cell lymphocyte leukemia (SLL)
Small cell lymphocyte leukemia is a type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the SLL cancer is located in lymp nodes and/or the spleen

16 16CD19-targeted CAR-T cells in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus.
Mougiakako Ds , Krönke G Völkl S, et al. N Engl J Med. 2021 Aug 5;385(6):567-569.

17 17Siegel RL, Miller KD, Fuchs HE, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2021. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2021;71(1):7-33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173

19 19N. Martinez-Cibrian , S. Betriu , V. Ortiz-Maldonado , D. Esteban , L. Alserawan , M. Montoro , A.D. Van Muyden , M. Spoon , M.J Pont , C. Jacques , J.Delgado (2023, February 9-11) Initial clinical results of Euplagia-1, a Phase I/II Trial of Point-of-Care Manufactured GLPG5201 in R/R CLL/SLL with or without Richter’s transformation [Poster presentation]. EBMT-EHA 5th European CAR T-cell Meeting, Rotterdam, the Netherlands