On October 25, 2011 Takara Bio reported that it has entered into an agreement with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC; New York, US) as of October 25, 2011, under which the company conducts in Japan a clinical research for gene therapy targeting non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in which Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) technology is applied (Press release Takara Bio, OCT 25, 2011, View Source [SID:1234501097]). Based on the agreement, MSKCC’s data and materials relevant to CAR gene therapy will be provided to the company to be used for its planned clinical research in Japan.
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Since 2007, MSKCC has been conducting in the United States clinical trials of CAR gene therapy for leukemia, in which a CAR targeting CD19, which is a protein expressed on the surface of cancerous B cells, are utilized ("CD19-CAR gene therapy"). In August this year, MSKCC team published in Blood journal an article about encouraging results from the clinical trials, where certain efficacies of the CD19-CAR gene therapy were suggested in three out of eight evaluable patients who received the treatment.
Takara Bio will move forward clinical development of CD19-CAR gene therapy targeting non-Hodgkin lymphoma jointly with its endowed chair Division of Immuno- Gene & Cell Therapy (Takara Bio) of Jichi Medical University. The parties will prepare for an application for gene therapy clinical research in Japan by leveraging MSKCC’s data and materials such as the clinical protocol for CD19-CAR trial. Furthermore, the company will manufactures itself a GMP-grade CD19-CAR retrovirus vector for the planned clinical research in by utilizing virus producer cells provided by MSKCC.