PeproMene Bio Announces Full Remission in First Patient with Follicular Lymphoma Treated with CAR-T Therapy

Groundbreaking CAR-T Therapy Yields Complete Remission

PeproMene Bio, Inc., in collaboration with the Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation (ILFI), has made significant strides in the treatment of follicular lymphoma (FL) with their new CAR-T therapy, PMB-CT01. This innovative approach targets the BAFF receptor, and recently, they announced a notable milestone: the first patient to be treated has achieved a full remission just one month post-treatment.

The case involved a heavily pre-treated patient with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, who had undergone seven previous treatment lines. Notably, this included multiple rounds of chemo-immunotherapy and prior CAR-T therapies targeting CD19. The success of this case brings hope as it marks the first of potentially many patients who could benefit from this pioneering treatment strategy. Dr. Elizabeth Budde, the lead investigator at City of Hope, praised the treatment's efficacy and manageable safety profile, reporting no severe cytokine release syndrome (SCR) or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) observed in this patient.

FL represents the most common indolent variant of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), accounting for approximately 20% of all NHL cases in the U.S. Unfortunately, despite its prevalence, FL remains largely incurable with current standard therapies. Patients frequently experience relapses, which shorten remission periods and lead to increased urgency for novel therapeutic options. As Dr. Michel Azoulay, the Chief Medical Officer of the ILFI, pointed out, the organization is dedicated to accelerating the development of groundbreaking options for patients suffering from this aggressive disease.

The trial included a total of seven patients who were treated with PMB-CT01, all of whom achieved sustained complete responses within a wide range of follow-up periods from one to over twenty-nine months. This further solidifies PMB-CT01's promise as a viable treatment option, especially for those who have not benefited from existing therapies.

Understanding the mechanism of PMB-CT01 is crucial. This CAR-T therapy utilizes autologous T cells targeting the BAFF-R, a key player in B cell proliferation and survival. Since the signaling of the BAFF receptor is essential for B cells, including malignant ones, it is considered less likely that these cancer cells will escape therapy through receptor loss. This characteristic underscores the proposition that BAFF-R CAR-T therapy could become a vital tool against B-cell malignancies.

As PeproMene Bio continues to expand its clinical trials, there is optimism surrounding the future of PMB-CT01 with plans for a multi-site expansion phase that will include patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), in addition to relapsed/refractory FL.

As developments unfold, PeproMene Bio remains at the forefront of biomarker and therapeutic advancements. With robust backing and collaborations like that with ILFI, they emphasize their commitment toward ushering a new era of effective therapies for B-cell malignancies. The path forward looks promising, and stakeholders in the medical community keenly await more results and advancements from these pioneering studies.