On April 19, 2021, it was announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared an investigational new drug (IND) application for ALLO-605 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.1 ALLO-605 is an allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA).
Besides their anti-BCMA effect, ALLO-605 cells co-express a constitutively active chimeric cytokine receptor or turbodomain, which provides CAR T-cell intrinsic cytokine signaling. Preclinical studies found that the ALLO-605 design could recapitulate cytokine signaling to control T cell exhaustion, reduce rejection, and improve T cell function and potency to reduce the dose of T cells needed.1,2
This IND clearance allows for the commencement of the phase I IGNITE trial, due to start later this year, which will evaluate escalating doses of ALLO-605.1
For more information on anti-BCMA allogeneic CAR T cells, read our article here.