In recent years, we have witnessed several groundbreaking advances in the treatment of relapsed lymphatic and bone marrow cancers (lymphoma and myeloma) through various forms of immunotherapy. These new treatment modalities are based on the principle of bypassing the immune activation mechanisms that the cancer has managed to evade, thereby reestablishing an immune attack on the cancer cells using the patient’s own immune system.
One of these novel treatment methods is so-called Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T cells) (the principle is described elsewhere on this website). CAR T cells have proven capable of curing patients with relapsed aggressive lymphoma who previously had no remaining treatment options.
At CITCO, we have worked intensively to make CAR T-cell therapy available to Danish patients, especially those who have no effective standard treatment available. As of March 1, 2024, we have been able to offer treatment with Axicabtagene Ciloleucel (Yescarta®), which targets the CD19 antigen on lymphoma cells, to patients with early relapse (within one year of completing chemotherapy) of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). As of October 2024, we have also been able to offer Yescarta® to patients with second or later relapse.
In the field of bone marrow cancer (myeloma), starting March 1, 2025, we will also be able to offer treatment with Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel (Carvykti®) in the fourth line of therapy or later. Unlike CD19, which is not found on the malignant plasma cells in myeloma, this therapy targets the so-called BCMA antigen.
In the autumn of 2025, we will also be ready to offer treatment with another CD19 CAR T-cell product, Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (Breyanzi®), to the same patient group eligible for Yescarta®. We are also actively collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry in the development and clinical testing of new CAR T-cell products or existing ones for new indications in so-called clinical trial protocols.
Currently, we are participating in an early (phase 1/2) trial of a so-called bispecific CAR T-cell therapy that can recognize two different antigens on the surface of lymphoma cells. In the summer of 2025, we will open a new trial for a CAR T-cell therapy targeting a different antigen than BCMA for myeloma – specifically GPRC5D. As part of the latest developments, and in collaboration with the rheumatology department, we are also planning a clinical trial of CAR T-cell therapy for patients with severe connective tissue disease in the autumn of 2025.
Parallel to implementing commercial CAR T-cell therapies for approved indications and testing new therapies/indications in clinical trials, it has always been our ambition to produce CAR T cells for clinical use in our own laboratory. We are now well advanced in our preparations with our own CAR T-cell product (CITCAR19), which will be tested in a phase Ib clinical trial for patients with relapsed B-cell lymphomas who have no other treatment options. We hope to offer this opportunity to the first patients in the spring of 2026.