Mustang Bio focuses on CD20 antigen for CAR T-cell therapy

May 27, 2022

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that target the CD19 antigen have made the jump from the laboratory to the clinic with remarkable results, but biopharmaceutical company Mustang Bio is focused on a CD20-targeted autologous CAR T-cell therapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

Dr. Bruce Dezube, senior vice president and head of clinical development at Mustang Bio, spoke to ScienceBoard.net at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 2022 annual meeting in Washington, DC, about the targeting of the CD20 antigen.

"CAR T cells have revolutionized the life of the relapsed/refractory lymphoma patients; 50% of them do survive," said Dezube, who has been an oncologist for 36 years. "For the 50% who don't survive, that's a problem. And, so, the way we are personally addressing it is we're going after a different target."

While CD19 and B-cell maturation antigen are the only antigens for which there are U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved CAR T-cell therapies, Dezube called CD20 a "very well validated antigen in the lymphoma field" and noted that "it is not lost," whereas patients treated with CD19 CAR T therapy "approximately a third of them will lose their antigen over time."

Listen to the audio recording below to learn more.


Lexeo to start phase I/II clinical trial for patients with FA cardiomyopathy
Gene therapy company Lexeo Therapeutics in 2022 plans to launch a phase I/II clinical trial of its adeno-associated virus-based therapy designed to intravenously...
Graphite Bio sees its gene editing tech as step above CRISPR
While the use of CRISPR is an effective gene editing tool on its own, Dr. Josh Lehrer, CEO of Graphite Bio, contends that the technology doesn’t correct...
COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines benefit from decades of research
25 years ago Dr. Drew Weissman, PhD, an infectious disease expert at Penn Medicine, and RNA biologist Kati Kariko, PhD, began their collaboration in...
Genenta Science reports preliminary results of Temferon-glioblastoma study
Biotech company Genenta Science is developing a proprietary hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy, Temferon, for the treatment of a variety of solid tumor...
Next-generation AAV capsids hold key to developing life-changing therapies
Voyager Therapeutics’ discovery platform is identifying novel capsids targeting desired cells and tissues with greater specificity, at lower doses, and...
How to address challenges in producing AAV vectors
There are challenges in producing sufficient quantities of gene therapy products, particularly when it comes to adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors,...
Atsena Therapeutics’ gene therapy takes aim at childhood blindness
In an interview with ScienceBoard.net, Patrick Ritschel, CEO of Ophthalmology-based gene therapy company Atsena Therapeutics, shared an overview...
Omega Therapeutics looks to tap 'nature's operating system' to control gene expression
Precision genomic medicine company Omega Therapeutics is looking to harness “nature’s operating system” for controlling gene expression and cell differentiation,...
Delivery of gene therapies remains a key challenge
Gene therapy holds great promise for treating inherited disorders, cancers, and other diseases, but delivery of these therapies remains a key challenge,...
Next evolution of CAR T-cell therapy is solid tumors
While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has become a game changer for some patients with blood cancer, the next area of evolution for the...

Copyright © 2022 scienceboard.net

Last Updated 7/20/2022 2:22:18 PM