ALPHA2 Study: ALLO-501A Allogeneic CAR T in LBCL, Updated Results Continue to Show Encouraging Safety and Efficacy with Consolidation Dosing
Authors: Lekakis Lazaros J. , Locke Frederick L. , Tees Michael , Neelapu Sattva S. , Malik Shahbaz A. , Hamadani Mehdi , Frank Matthew J. , Popplewell Leslie L. , Abramson Jeremy S. , de Vos Sven , Munoz Javier , Shin Chu Ri , Balakumaran Arun , Loomis-Navale Lynn , Goyal Lovely , Zhou Xiangdong , Miklos David B. 
Published: November 2021

Background

Allogeneic (off the shelf) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy addresses the logistical challenges, availability (including insufficient T-cell yields from low baseline absolute lymphocyte count), and variable product quality of autologous CAR T therapy. ALLO-501A is a genetically modified anti-CD19 AlloCAR T™ cell product that uses TALEN ® gene editing to disrupt the T-cell receptor alpha constant gene (TRAC) and the CD52 gene to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and permit the use of ALLO-647, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody (mAb), for selective and transitory host lymphodepletion (LD). Here we present an update on the preliminary safety, efficacy, and correlative data. ALLO-501A uses Cellectis technologies.

Methods

ALPHA2 (NCT04416984) is a single-arm, open-label, Phase 1/2 trial of ALLO-501A in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL including [R/R] diffuse LBCL [DLBCL], transformed follicular lymphoma [tFL], marginal zone lymphoma [tMZL], primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma [PMBCL], follicular lymphoma grade 3B [FL3B]) who received ≥2 prior lines of therapy (including an anthracycline and anti-CD20 mAb), have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1. Subjects with donor specific antibodies are excluded. Following LD with ALLO-647, fludarabine 30 mg/m 2/d x 3d (F), and cyclophosphamide 300 or 500 mg/m 2/d x 3d (C), either a single (40 [DL1] or 120 [DL2] x 10 6 viable CAR T cells) or consolidation dose of ALLO-501A (DL2) are given. For consolidation dose, pts with ≥stable disease (SD) at day 28 receive consolidation with second ALLO-647 (no chemo) for LD and ALLO-501A (DL2) cell infusion.

Results

As of July 9, 2021, 20 pts were enrolled; 15 pts were treated with ALLO-501A (12 evaluable and 3 pending D28 assessment); 3 pts pending treatment; 2 pts withdrew due to adverse event (AE)/progressing disease (PD) prior to dosing. Patients were heavily pretreated with advanced-stage disease (Stage III: 4 [22.2%], Stage IV: 8 [44.4%]), median number of prior treatments was 3 with a high of 7. Three pts (16.7%) had primary refractory disease.

Safety profile was manageable in both single dose and consolidation cohorts. Events of interest in the single dose cohort have been previously reported (ASCO 2021). In the consolidation cohort (13 enrolled, 9 pts dosed thus far), no cytokine release syndrome (CRS), no GvHD, no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), no dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), no dose reductions, no Grade (Gr) 3+ infections and no related serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred, and infusion-related reactions were Gr 1. Among all treated, cytopenias were the most common AE and occurred in 72% of pts.

Of the 12 evaluable pts (6 each treated in the single dose and consolidation dose cohort), both the overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) were 50% (95% CI: 21.1, 78.9). In the consolidation cohort, both ORR and CR rate were 66.7% (95% CI: 22.3, 95.7) with 3/3 partial responses (PRs) converting to CR after consolidation; 1 pt had CR at days 28 and 56 post consolidation and 2 pts had PD at month 1 and did not receive consolidation. In single dose cohort, 2 pts have ongoing CR at 9 and 12+ months.

CAR T expansion was greater in pts who achieved a CR with a geometric mean area under the curve (AUC) at D1-28 of 206,990 copies/ug*days (n=6; GSD 4.94) compared to pts who did not achieve a CR with AUC at D1-28 of 3,571 copies/ug*days (n=3; GSD 2.41). Pts who received the consolidation dose continued to have CAR T expansion after the 2 nd CAR T infusion with geometric mean AUC from D30-56 of 92,893 copies/ug*days (n=4; GSD 5.42).

Conclusions

ALLO-501A with consolidation dosing demonstrated comparable safety and an improved efficacy profile compared to single dosing with all 4 pts who received consolidation remaining in CR. Persistence of CAR T at D28 and expansion after consolidation dose was observed in addition to the observed deepening of responses in pts whose initial response was PR. Additional follow up is needed to determine whether consolidation also improves the durability of response. Consolidation was well tolerated and given the generally favorable overall safety profile, ALLO-501A may have the potential to be given in the outpatient setting. Enrollment is ongoing. Updated efficacy and follow-up will be presented at the meeting. Currently, an ALLO-501A Phase 2 trial is planned.

Disclosures

Locke: Cowen: Consultancy; Umoja: Consultancy, Other; Wugen: Consultancy, Other; Takeda: Consultancy, Other; Novartis: Consultancy, Other, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; Bluebird Bio: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; Calibr: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; Amgen: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; GammaDelta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; Cellular Biomedicine Group: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role, Research Funding; Legend Biotech: Consultancy, Other; Iovance Biotherapeutics: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role; EcoR1: Consultancy; Allogene Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: Scientific Advisory Role, Research Funding; Emerging Therapy Solutions: Consultancy; Gerson Lehrman Group: Consultancy; Moffitt Cancer Center: Patents & Royalties: field of cellular immunotherapy. Neelapu: Kite, a Gilead Company, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Celgene, Pfizer, Allogene Therapeutics, Cell Medica/Kuur, Incyte, Precision Biosciences, Legend Biotech, Adicet Bio, Calibr, Unum Therapeutics and Bluebird Bio: Honoraria; Kite, a Gilead Company, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Celgene, Pfizer, Allogene, Kuur, Incyte, Precision BioSciences, Legend, Adicet Bio, Calibr, and Unum Therapeutics: Other: personal fees; Kite, a Gilead Company, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Poseida, Cellectis, Celgene, Karus Therapeutics, Unum Therapeutics (Cogent Biosciences), Allogene, Precision BioSciences, Acerta and Adicet Bio: Research Funding; Takeda Pharmaceuticals and related to cell therapy: Patents & Royalties. Hamadani: Janssen, Incyte, ADC Therapeutics, Omeros, Morphosys, Kite: Consultancy; Sanofi, Genzyme, AstraZeneca, BeiGene: Speakers Bureau; Takeda, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Astellas Pharma: Research Funding. Frank: Allogene Therapeutics: Research Funding; Kite-Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Research Funding. Popplewell: Novartis: Other: Travel; Pfizer: Other: Travel; Hoffman La Roche: Other: Food. Abramson: Bluebird Bio: Consultancy; Kymera: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Incyte Corporation: Consultancy; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy; Allogene Therapeutics: Consultancy; Seagen Inc.: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Morphosys: Consultancy; Kite Pharma: Consultancy; C4 Therapeutics: Consultancy; Genmab: Consultancy; EMD Serono: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy. Munoz: Pharmacyclics/Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead/Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Juno/Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Kyowa: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Alexion: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Fosunkite: Consultancy; Innovent: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Debiopharm: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Genmab: Consultancy; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy; Servier: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Portola: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Millennium: Research Funding; Targeted Oncology: Honoraria; OncView: Honoraria; Physicians' Education Resource: Honoraria; Roche: Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Verastem: Speakers Bureau; Acrotech/Aurobindo: Speakers Bureau. Shin: Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Loomis-Navale: Allogene: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Miklos: Pharmacyclics, Amgen, Kite, a Gilead Company, Novartis, Roche, Genentech, Becton Dickinson, Isoplexis, Miltenyi, Juno-Celgene-Bristol Myers Squibb, Allogene, Precision Biosciences, Adicet, Adaptive Biotechnologies: Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company, Amgen, Atara, Wugen, Celgene, Novartis, Juno-Celgene-Bristol Myers Squibb, Allogene, Precision Bioscience, Adicet, Pharmacyclics, Janssen, Takeda, Adaptive Biotechnologies and Miltenyi Biotechnologies: Consultancy; Adaptive Biotechnologies, Novartis, Juno/Celgene-BMS, Kite, a Gilead Company, Pharmacyclics-AbbVie, Janssen, Pharmacyclics, AlloGene, Precision Bioscience, Miltenyi Biotech, Adicet, Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Patents & Royalties.

OffLabel Disclosure:

Discussion of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in combination with ALLO-647 as conditioning regimen prior to administration of ALLO-501A in patients with R/R LBCL.