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MEMCAR19: Allogeneic CAR T-Cell Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory CD19-Positive Leukemia

Phase I Study Evaluating Allogeneic Memory T Cells Engineered to Express Chimeric Antigen Receptors Specific for CD19 for the Treatment of Pediatric and Young Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory CD19-positive Leukemia

Categories:

Leukemia / Lymphoma

Bone Marrow Transplant

Diseases Treated:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Eligibility Overview:

Donor eligibility includes:

  • At least 18 years old
  • At least single haplotype matched family member
  • HIV negative
  • Not pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Completed the process of donor eligibility determination as defined in the study

 

Recipient eligibility includes:

  • 21 years old or younger*
  • Diagnosed with relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia (as defined in the study)
  • Cohort A only – Relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia AND previously received a hematopoietic cell transplant from the selected CAR-T donor
  • Cohort B only: Can not receive autologous CD19-CAR T-cell therapy (as defined in the study)
  • Detectable CD19+ leukemia in the bone marrow
  • Adequate organ function (as defined in the study)

* Initial 3 participants must be at least 12 years old.

  1. MEMCAR19 is a phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a novel CAR T-cell product, allogeneic CD19-CAR.CD45RA-negative T cells, for the treatment of children and young adults with relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia. The CAR T-cell product will be manufactured at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Good Manufacturing Practices facility.

    In this study, the CD45RA-positive T cells will be depleted prior to CD19-CAR T-cell production and the resultant memory T cells will be used to manufacture a CD19-CAR T cell product. The goals of this approach are to increase the availability of CAR T-cell therapy for patients through the use of an allogeneic platform, while using T-cell selection techniques to decrease the risk of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD).

    Patients will be enrolled in 1 of 2 cohorts:

    • Cohort A – Patient has relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia, and patient has previously received a hematopoietic cell transplant from the selected CAR-T donor.
    • Cohort B – Patient has relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia and is not suitable to receive autologous CD19-CAR T-cell therapy because they:
      • Have relapsed and/or refractory disease despite prior treatment with autologous CD19-CAR T-cell therapy
      • Have a history of prior autologous leukapheresis failure
      • Have a history of prior autologous CAR T-cell manufacturing failure
      • Are unable to undergo autologous leukapheresis in the opinion of the study PI(s). Examples may include: patient has a small size or low weight, inadequate T-cell counts, rapidly progressive leukemia, or a clinical status not amenable to apheresis.

    Treatment will include a single treatment course, including a lymphodepleting chemotherapy regimen (fludarabine/cyclophosphamide), followed by a single infusion of allogeneic CD19-CAR.CD45RA-negative T cells. Once the maximun tolerated dose (MTD) is determined for a given cohort, enrollment on an expansion group will begin. Total study duration for each patient will be 1 year. Following the study period, patients will continue to be followed on the St. Jude  long-term follow-up protocol.

    Primary Objective

    • To determine the maximum tolerated dose and characterize the safety profile and dose-limiting toxicities of treatment with allogeneic CD19-CAR.CD45RA-negative T cells in pediatric patients with relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia

    Secondary Objectives Include:

    • To evaluate the anti-leukemic activity of allogeneic CD19-CAR.CD45RA-negative T cells
    • To determine rates and severity of GVHD after treatment with allogeneic CD19-CAR.CD45RA-negative T cells

    Eligibility Criteria

    Inclusion criteria include:

    Donor eligibility

    • At least 18 years old
    • At least single haplotype matched family member
    • HIV negative
    • Not pregnant or breastfeeding
    • Completed the process of donor eligibility determination as defined in the study

    Recipient eligibility

    • 21 years old or younger
    • Diagnosed with relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia (as defined in the study)
    • Cohort A only – Patient has relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia, and patient has previously received a hematopoietic cell transplant from the selected CAR-T donor
    • Cohort B only: Not suitable to receive autologous CD19-CAR T-cell therapy (as defined in the study)
    • Detectable CD19+ medullary leukemia
    • Adequate organ function (as defined in the study)

    Exclusion Criteria include:

    • Pregnant or breastfeeding
    • History of HIV infection

    Study Sites

    St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
    Memphis, Tennessee

  2. About this study

    This research study tests a new treatment for children and young adults with CD19-positive leukemia that has been difficult to treat or has come back after other therapies.

    The treatment in this study is called CAR T-cell therapy. It is a type of immunotherapy. Scientists insert a CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) into T cells to allow them to better find and kill the cancer. The CAR T-cell therapy in this study uses memory T cells collected from a donor. The donor will be a parent or other close family member. Researchers will collect T cells from the donor and use them to manufacture a new product called memory CAR T cells. The use of memory CAR T cells is experimental, which means it is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, similar CARs have been tested using patient T cells.

    If you take part in this study, you will receive an infusion of CAR T cells that were made using memory T cells collected from your donor. Chemotherapy is often given for several days before the infusion. You will stay in the hospital for about a week.

    You may or may not benefit from being in this study. But information gained from the study may help future patients with this type of leukemia.

    Purpose of this clinical trial

    The main goal of this study is to learn the largest dose of memory CAR T cells that can be safely given. Researchers also want to learn about the way memory CAR T cells act in the body and how effectively they treat this type of cancer.

    Eligibility overview

    Donor eligibility includes:

    • At least 18 years old
    • At least single haplotype matched family member
    • Be eligible to be a donor (as defined in the study)

    Recipient eligibility includes:

    •  21 years old or younger
    • Diagnosed with relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia
    • Cohort A only – Patient has relapsed and/or refractory CD19-positive leukemia and patient has previously received a hematopoietic cell transplant from the selected CAR-T donor
    • Cohort B only: Not suitable for autologous CD19-CAR T-cell therapy (as defined in the study)
    • Detectable CD19+ leukemia in the bone marrow
    • Adequate organ study function (as defined in the study)
  3. MNEMONIC
    Sponsors: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
    ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04881240
    Trial Start Date: June 2021
    Estimated Enrollment: 60
    Study Type: Interventional
    Study Phase: Phase I  
    Conditions: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia  
    Ages: 21 and younger
    Principal investigator: Aimee Talleur, MD
    Stephen Gottschalk, MD
    Study Sites: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
    For a consultation or to discuss MNEMONIC: St. Jude Physician/Patient Referral Office
    1-888-226-4343
    referralinfo@stjude.org

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105  USA
Voice: 1-888-226-4343 or 901-595-4055
24-Hour Emergency Access Pager: 1-800-349-4334
Email: referralinfo@stjude.org

The above information is intended to provide only a basic description about a research protocol that may be currently active at St. Jude. The details made available here may not be the most up-to-date information on protocols used by St. Jude. To receive full details about a protocol and its status and or use at St. Jude, a physician must contact St. Jude directly.

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