CARsgen Therapeutics has announced the initiation of an investigator-initiated trial (IIT) in China for KJ-C2219, an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy, targeting CD19/CD20.

The trial will evaluate KJ-C2219 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R B-NHL).

KJ-C2219 is developed based on CARsgen's THANK-u Plus platform and is designed for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

CARsgen has developed the THANK-u Plus platform as an enhanced version of its proprietary THANK-uCAR® allogeneic CAR-T technology to address the potential impact of NKG2A expression levels on therapeutic efficacy. THANK-u Plus demonstrates sustained expansion regardless of varying NKG2A expression levels on NK cells and exhibits significantly improved expansion compared to THANK-uCAR®. Preclinical studies show that THANK-u Plus delivers superior antitumor efficacy in the presence of NK cells compared to THANK-uCAR®.

Allogeneic BCMA or dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR-T cells developed using this platform exhibit robust antitumor activity in the presence of NK cells, indicating that THANK-u Plus has broad potential for developing diverse allogeneic CAR-T therapies.

CARsgen is a biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the US, focusing on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. CARsgen has established a comprehensive CAR T-cell research and development platform that covers target discovery, innovative CAR T-cell development, clinical trials, and commercial-scale production.

Internally, CARsgen has developed novel technologies and a product pipeline with global rights to address significant challenges faced by existing CAR T-cell therapies. Efforts include improving safety profile, enhancing the efficacy in treating solid tumors, and reducing treatment costs. CARsgen's mission is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that provides innovative and differentiated cell therapies for cancer patients worldwide and makes cancer curable.