Clinical Manufacture of FT819: Use of a Clonal Multiplexed-Engineered Master Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Line to Mass Produce Off-the-Shelf CAR T-Cell Therapy
Authors: Yuan Xu , Clarke Raedun , Lai Yi-Shin , Chang Chia-Wei , Yang Bi-Huei , Hsia Gloria , Abujarour Ramzey , Lee Tom , van der Stegen Sjoukje , Shaked Helena , Jalloh Abubakar , Moreno Stephanie , ORourke Jason , Sung Eric , Gutierrez Alma , Rezner Betsy , Eberhart Meghan , Magdaleno Rebecca , Wang Xiuyan , Senechal Brigitte , Sikder Devanjan S. , Farnan Dell , Plavsic Mark , Bressi Jerome , Rivière Isabelle , Valamehr Bahram 
Published: November 2021

FT819 is a first-of-kind, allogeneic, off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy derived from a clonal master induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line precisely engineered to insert a novel 1XX anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) under the regulation of the T-cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC) locus for optimized control of anti-tumor activity and to completely delete T-cell receptor (TCR) expression to eliminate the potential of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Unlike conventional allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies which require repeatedly sourcing of T cells from various donors as the starting material, the use of a clonal master engineered iPSC line serves as a renewable starting cell source and ensures routine mass production of a uniformly engineered, homogenous CAR T-cell product for broad patient access.

T cell-derived iPSCs were generated using a proprietary non-integrating cellular reprogramming system and genetically modified to integrate a novel anti-CD19 1XX CAR into both alleles of the TRAC gene. After single cell subcloning, each engineered iPSC clone was screened for multiple critical quality attributes including pluripotency, identity, genomic stability, cassette integration, on/off-target integration, T-cell differentiation propensity, and CAR T-cell function. Accordingly, the ideal single cell-derived engineered iPSC clone was selected as the clonal master iPSC line for FT819 and was converted into a master cell bank (MCB).

The iPSC MCB serves as a renewable source for the routine GMP manufacture of FT819 drug product. The FT819 production process consists of three stages: 1) generation of CD34-expressing hematopoietic progenitor cells from iPSCs (&gt;90% CD34+ cells post enrichment); 2) lineage-specification to T cells followed by T-cell expansion (&gt;5e5 fold expansion); and 3) fill/finish and cryopreservation of the drug product. As an example, in an initial small-scale manufacturing campaign, a total of 2.5 × 10 10 FT819 CAR T-cells were generated and filled and finished starting from one vial of the MCB.

The FT819 drug product was tested on safety, identity, purity, and potency. The final product was comprised of CD45+CD7+ lymphocytes (&gt;99%), with homogeneous CAR expression (&gt;99% CAR+) and lacking expression of TCRαβ (not detected) on the cell surface. Importantly, there were no residual iPSCs detected in the FT819 drug product. The FT819 drug product exhibited potent and consistent effector function against NALM6 leukemia cells. The FT819 drug product is currently being used in a landmark Phase I study (NCT04629729), the first-ever iPSC-derived T-cell therapy to undergo clinical investigation, for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

In summary, FT819 is a first-of-kind, off-the-shelf, CAR T-cell therapy uniquely derived from a clonal multiplexed-engineered master iPSC line. The novel manufacturing paradigm enables mass production of a uniformly engineered, homogenous cell therapy product that is available on-demand for broad patient access. A multi-center Phase 1 study of FT819 is currently ongoing for the treatment of B-cell malignancies.

Key Words: cancer immunotherapy, cell therapy, CAR-T, CD19, allogeneic, induced pluripotent stem cell, iPSC, clonal master iPSC line, engineered, off-the-shelf, cGMP, production, manufacturing, FT819

Disclosures

Yuan: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Clarke: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Lai: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Chang: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Yang: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Hsia: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Abujarour: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Lee: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. van der Stegen: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Shaked: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Jalloh: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Moreno: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. ORourke: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Sung: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Gutierrez: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Rezner: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Eberhart: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Magdaleno: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Farnan: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Plavsic: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Bressi: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment. Rivière: Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy: Other: Provision of Services; Fate Therapeutics: Other: Provision of Services, Patents & Royalties; The Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC): Other: Provision of Services (uncompensated); FloDesign Sonics: Other: Provision of Services; Juno Therapeutics: Patents & Royalties. Valamehr: Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment.