On 15th December, the SME T-CURX GmbH announced the appointment of Thomas Loeser as the new CFO of the company and the attendance of the JPM 41st Annual Healthcare Conference 2023 in San Francisco from Jan 9-12, 2023.
Tom has served for more than 20 years as CFO of several European and US biotech companies, where he directed growth and financial strategies with particular emphasis on transatlantic company building and outreach to US capital markets.
In his last CFO position at Origenis GmbH/IZB Martinsried, Germany, Tom focused on the commercialization of its IP portfolio by the foundation of US-based Neuron23, Inc., dedicated to precision medicines for neurodegenerative diseases. Since its launch in 2019, Neuron23 has raised a total of $213 million from Kleiner Perkins, Westlake Village BioPartners, Perceptive Advisors, Softbank Vision Fund 2 and other high-profile VC/cross-over funds.
Prior to Origenis, Tom directed the financing strategy of ESBATech AG, Zurich, Switzerland. ESBATech, now a Novartis company, was recognized for its pioneering role in developing single-chain antibody fragments for ophthalmic indications by the support of a strong US-led venture capital syndicate since 2006 and the trade sale of its ophthalmology franchise to Alcon, Inc. for $589 million in 2009.

Read the full press release

Monica Casucci, group leader of the innovative immunotherapies unit at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, was awarded by the European Research Council, to refine her outstanding research work on a novel CAR specific for the CD44v6 antigen and strategies to improve CAR-T cell activity against solid tumors. 
Congratulations from the whole CARAMBA team to Monica!

This year, the most important scientific price of the BAdW, endowed with 25.000 Euro, was awarded to Michael Hudecek, for his outstanding work on gen-modified CART-T cell therapy for cancer treatment. The Schelling price is awarded bi-annually, for outstanding scientific achievements.

Picture: President of the “Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften”, Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas O. Höllmann (left), awarding Prof. Dr. Michael Hudecek (Uniklinikum Würzburg) on 3rd December. (Bild: BAdW / Stefan Obermeier)

VJHemOnc’s video series on CART cells interviewing HErmann Einsele

During the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting, VJHemOnc interviewed Hermann Einsele, MD, FRCP, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany on CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma patients and beyond. Watch the videos below, produced by the fantastic VJHemOnc team.

Exciting developments in CAR-T therapies in and beyond hematological malignancies

Hermann Einsele, MD, FRCP, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, discusses the latest advances in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. CAR-Ts have changed the treatment landscape of hematological malignancies and are now being evaluated in earlier lines of therapy. There is a lot of ongoing work in developing CAR-Ts for solid tumors, as well as in other conditions including cardiac fibrosis, and autoimmune and infectious diseases. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

Approved and emerging CAR-Ts in multiple myeloma

Hermann Einsele, MD, FRCP, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, comments on the efficacy and safety of idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) and ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), two chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies for multiple myeloma. Ide-cel has been approved by the FDA and EMA for patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three lines of prior therapy and has shown impressive results in terms of overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS), with a low incidence of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity. Cilta-cel is another promising CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma. Although it hasn’t been approved yet, studies are reporting very high response rates (RR) and remarkable PFS data, with limited toxicities. Clinical trials are also investigating these CAR-T therapies in earlier lines of therapy, which could ultimately allow achieving long-term control of the disease. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

Safety considerations in CAR-T therapy: patient selection and side effects

Hermann Einsele, MD, FRCP, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, shares guidelines on patient selection and patient follow-up after treatment with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. Prof. Einsele explains that patients with comorbidities including cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, as well as renal, liver or hematopoietic dysfunction should not receive CAR-T therapy. It is also important to avoid exposing patients to lymphodepleting treatments prior to leukapheresis. In addition, clinicians should be aware of side effects that can occur long after treatment with CAR-Ts. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

Is CAR-T therapy going to replace high-dose chemotherapy with autoSCT in multiple myeloma?

Hermann Einsele, MD, FRCP, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, talks on the role of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (autoSCT) in the context of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies in multiple myeloma. CAR T-therapies are undeniably starting to challenge the current standard of care (SOC) due to their high efficacy and low toxicity, and they are currently being investigated in earlier lines of therapy where they are directly compared to chemotherapy and autoSCT. Prof. Einsele explains that CAR-T therapy may also be added to autoSCT as an additional consolidation strategy in high-risk and ultra-high risk disease. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

VJHemOnc’s video series on CART cells interviewing Michael Hudecek

During the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting, VJHemOnc interviewed Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany on several exciting CAR-T topics. Watch the videos below, produced by the fantastic VJHemOnc team.

CARAMBA-1: a Phase I/IIa trial of autologous SLAMF7 CAR-Ts in multiple myeloma

Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, outlines the rationale and preliminary results of CARAMBA-1, an ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial evaluating the feasibility, safety and anti-myeloma activity of autologous SLAMF7 chimeric antigen T-cells (CAR-T) in patients with multiple myeloma (NCT04499339). Recent pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that CAR-Ts targeting SLAMF7 have potent anti-myeloma efficacy. Early results from the dose-escalation part of the CARAMBA-1 study suggest that these CAR-Ts are safe and show indications of anti-tumor activity. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting in which was held virtually in 2022.

Young EBMT & EHA Ambassadors: the basic science behind CAR-Ts

Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, outlines the aims and key points of his talk in the Young EBMT & EHA Ambassadors session. This session is dedicated to young clinicians and scientists and aims to explain the basic science behind chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts), how they were transformed into a viable product, and how CAR-Ts are evaluated. The session will also highlight clinical data on CAR-Ts. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

CAR-T trials and research at UKW

Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, gives an update of the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) clinical trials and research conducted at the University Hospital of Würzburg (UKW). Dr Hudecek talks on the ongoing CARAMBA-1 trial evaluating autologous SLAMF7 CAR-Ts in multiple myeloma (NCT04499339), and comments on a novel promising target antigen for CAR-T therapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He also explains that a clinical trial for a CAR-T product for breast cancer and lung cancer will be launched soon. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

EBMT-EHA CAR T-cell meeting: all the latest in CAR-T

Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, gives an overview of the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting program, highlighting the aims and importance of this meeting. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in translational research. The EBMT-EHA CAR T-cell meeting brings key opinion leaders (KOLs) and stakeholders from all over the world together to discuss the latest data in CAR-T therapies and exchange ideas to further improve this practice-changing technology. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

Exploring the applications of CAR-Ts beyond hematology and oncology

Michael Hudecek, MD, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, discusses the potential of engineered immune cell therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts) in fields other than hematology and oncology, namely infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 4th European CAR T-cell Meeting which was held virtually in 2022.

In close collarboration between the CARAMBA partners Paul-Ehrlich-Insitiute, DRK-BSD and the University Hospital in Wuerzburg, first CARAMBA data were published on the bioRxiv platform.

Abstract:

Widespread treatment of human diseases with gene therapies necessitates the development of gene transfer vectors that integrate genetic information effectively, safely and economically. Accordingly, significant efforts have been devoted to engineer novel tools that i) achieve high-level stable gene transfer at low toxicity to the host cell; ii) induce low levels of genotoxicity and possess a ‘safe’ integration profile with a high proportion of integrations into safe genomic locations; and iii) are associated with acceptable cost per treatment and scalable/exportable vector production to serve large numbers of patients. The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon has been transformed into a vector system that is fulfilling these requirements.

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