Autolus' dual targeting CAR T safe in Phase I/II data for hematological malignancies

Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) reported preliminary data from a pair of open-label, U.K. Phase I/II trials showing that AUTO3 had a manageable safety profile and led to responses among patients with hematological malignancies. AUTO3 comprises CAR T cells simultaneously targeting CD19 and CD22. Data were presented in December at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in San Diego.

There were no cases of grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in either AMELIA, which is enrolling patients with high-risk relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), or in the ALEXANDER, which is enrolling patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Data from 10 evaluable patients in AMELIA showed that AUTO3 led to eight cases of minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative complete remission. Among six evaluable patients in ALEXANDER, AUTO3 led to two complete responses and two partial responses...