A Phase 1 Study of CD38-Bispecific Antibody (XmAb18968) for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Guru Murthy Guru Subramanian , Shah Bijal D. , Duvall Adam S , Leonard Jessica T. , Badar Talha , Arana Yi Cecilia Y. , Kearl Tyce , Baim Arielle , Harrington Alexandra M. , Szabo Aniko , Atallah Ehab L. 
Published: December 2023

Background:

Outcomes of adults with relapsed/refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has remained poor. CD38 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is highly expressed in T-ALL and is potentially targetable with CD38 blocking agents [Naik J et al. Haematologica 2019, Bride KL et al. Blood 2018, Tembhare et al. J Immunother Cancer 2020]. XmAb18968 is a novel CD38-CD3 bi-specific T-cell engager with Fc domain modified to minimize Fcγ receptor binding and non-selective T-cell activation resulting in reduced cytokine release without compromising target cell killing. We designed a phase I clinical trial to assess the safety and tolerability of XmAb18968 in patients with T-ALL.

Methods:

We conducted a multicenter, open label, phase I dose escalation study of XmAb18968 (NCT05038644). Patients aged ≥18 years with relapsed/refractory T-ALL or T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), ECOG PS 0-2 and adequate organ function were eligible. Major exclusion criteria are hematopoietic cell transplantation within 6 months of enrollment, prior therapy with daratumumab in the last 6 months and active acute graft-versus-host disease. Dose escalation was conducted using 3+3 design, and 4 separate dose levels were studied [0.8mg, 1mg, 1.3mg, 1.5mg]. XmAb18968 was administered intravenously on days 1, 8, 15, 22 on a 28-day cycle. During cycle 1 alone, day 1 dose was fractionated and administered over 2 days to minimize the risk of significant cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Treatment was continued until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary objective was to determine the safety and dose limiting toxicity (DLT) and secondary objective was to determine the preliminary efficacy. Correlative studies included pharmacokinetics, characterizing changes in serum cytokines and phenotypic expression of activated T-cells and leukemic cells, correlation of the phenotypic expression with changes in transcriptome at the single-cell level, proteomics evaluation of cytokine secretion at the single-cell level and correlation of response with N-glycan profiling, quantitative site-occupancy, and direct glycopeptide analysis.

Results:

Four patients with relapsed/refractory T-ALL have been enrolled so far at dose level 1 (0.8mg) with 3 of them being evaluable for response (one patient came off study before DLT period). Median age was 62 years (34-74), all response evaluable patients had early T-precursor ALL (ETP-ALL), and one patient (25%) was previously treated with allogeneic HCT, CD7 CAR-T therapy and daratumumab. Grade 3 or higher adverse events are summarized in Table 1. CRS grades 1 was noted in 25% of patients, no grade ≥3 CRS or neurotoxicity (any grade) was seen. Of the 3 evaluable total patients, 2 patients had achieved complete response (CR) after 1 cycle of therapy (one patient had prior allogeneic HCT, CD7 CAR-T therapy and daratumumab) (Table 2). The two responders remain on treatment.

Conclusions:

XmAb18968, a novel CD-38 bispecific antibody appears safe and is showing response at the starting dose level in T-ALL. The study is currently enrolling additional patients with T-ALL. Updated analysis with additional patients and details on correlative studies examining mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy will be reported at the main meeting.