On June 25, 2024 Carisma Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CARM) ("Carisma" or the "Company"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for CT-0525, an ex vivo gene-modified autologous chimeric antigen receptor-monocyte (CAR-Monocyte) cellular therapy intended to treat solid tumors that overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) (Press release, Carisma Therapeutics, JUN 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234644539]).

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The FDA’s Fast Track program is aimed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of novel potential therapies that are designed to treat serious conditions and have the potential to address significant unmet medical need.

"Receiving Fast Track designation for CT-0525 from the FDA marks a significant milestone for Carisma, highlighting the FDA’s recognition of the serious and life-threatening nature of these malignancies and the potential of CT-0525 to meet this critical medical need," said Eugene P. Kennedy, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Carisma. "We are committed to working closely with the FDA to accelerate the development of CT-0525. Currently, we are enrolling patients in the Phase 1 clinical trial and remain on track to report initial clinical data by the end of 2024."

The Phase 1 clinical trial for CT-0525 is an open-label study designed to assess the safety, tolerability, and manufacturing feasibility of CT-0525. This trial will enroll participants with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic solid tumors overexpressing HER2 whose disease has progressed on standard approved therapies. The initial study design will consist of two dose escalation cohorts. Further details of the trial can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT identifier: NCT06254807.

About CT-0525

CT-0525 is a first-in-class, ex vivo gene-modified autologous chimeric antigen receptor-monocyte (CAR-Monocyte) cellular therapy intended to treat solid tumors that overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). It is being studied in a multi-center, open label, Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with advanced/metastatic HER2-overexpressing solid tumors that have progressed on available therapies. The CAR-Monocyte approach has the potential to address some of the challenges of treating solid tumors with cell therapies, including tumor infiltration, immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment, and antigen heterogeneity. CT-0525 has the potential to enable significant dose escalation, enhance tumor infiltration, increase persistence, and reduce manufacturing time compared to macrophage therapy.