On August 16, 2018 Immatics, a leading company in the field of cancer immunotherapy, reported that it has initiated enrollment of patients into a phase I trial of IMA202, its second T-cell Receptor (TCR)-transduced adoptive cell therapy program. IMA202 is an investigational immunotherapy which uses Immatics’ proprietary ACTengine approach and is based on genetic engineering of the patient’s own T cells to express an exogenous TCR (Press release, Immatics Biotechnologies, AUG 16, 2018, View Source [SID1234569550]). The goal is to redirect and activate the T cells to treat solid tumors. The single-center clinical study is now open for enrollment at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
The study (IMA202-101) will include approximately 12 patients with relapsed and/or refractory solid tumors, including but not limited to advanced non-small cell lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, for which no standard of care therapy is available.
Immatics’ ACTengine approach engineers the patients’ own T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) to express a novel, exogenous T-cell receptor (TCR) which is targeted to a site on the tumor identified by Immatics’ proprietary XPRESIDENT target discovery platform. ACTengine combines several innovative features:
TCRs specifically recognizing the XPRESIDENT-identified target are selected via Immatics’ proprietary high-throughput TCR discovery platform from the natural, human T-cell repertoire. The TCR used in this trial has been selected for highest specificity from more than one hundred TCRs using Immatics’ XPRESIDENT-guided on- and off-target toxicity screening.
The novel TCR recognizes its target with optimal affinity for an adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) approach.
The TCR-transduced T cells are activated and multiplied outside the body before being infused into the patient.
Patients are eligible for ACTengine cell therapy if the target of interest is present on the patient’s tumor as demonstrated by biomarker profiling.
The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the ACTengine approach, and specifically IMA202, in target-positive solid cancer patients. The secondary objectives include the evaluation of feasibility, the persistence of T cells in vivo, and the assessment of anti-tumor activity and biomarkers. The IMA202 phase I trial will be conducted by the Department of Thoracic Oncology, the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Stephen L. Eck, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Immatics US, commented: "Regulatory approval to start our second clinical study in our ACTengine-based cell therapy program is a significant step for Immatics. This study exemplifies Immatics’ XPRESIDENT target discovery capability and TCR discovery pipeline which are industry-leading cancer immunotherapy platforms. We are very excited to combine these capabilities in a trial led by the world-class investigators from MD Anderson Cancer Center in order to develop exciting new treatment options for cancer patients."