MPE’s video interviews with CARAMBA researchers

Myeloma Patients Europe conducted a series of interviews with CARAMBA researchers on the challenges of CAR T-cell therapy. Watch the videos below, produced by Myeloma Patients Europe. 

CARAMBA clinical trial updates on safety

Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, Head of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Unit at Lille University Hospital, explains the safety updates.

CARAMBA manufacturing process – Prof. Dr. Halvard Bönig

Prof. Dr. Halvard B. Bönig, Research and Development Department Translational Cell Therapy Development/GMP, explains the manufacturing process of the CARAMBA CAR-T treatment.

Immune Monitoring – Dr. Bruno Paiva

Dr. Bruno Paiva, Scientific Coordinator of the Diagnostic Laboratories of the University of Navarra (Spain), explains what immune monitoring is.

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)

An informative open access article was published on the current status and perspective of CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapy trials in Germany. As one can tell from the article, the number of clincial trials for CAR-T multiple myeloma therapies is still rather low. While other clincial trials target BCMA as target, CARAMBA targets the SLAMF7 antigen. If you are interested in the full article, please visit Nature’s Gene Therapy Journal.

The 5th digital myeloma forum was a great success.

On 9th July, the 5th edition of the Würzburg Myeloma Forum took place. With far more than 200 participants, mostly myeloma patients and their families as well as patient organisations, a large audience learned about the latest developments in research and treatment options for multiple myeloma. CARAMBA Coordinator Michael Hudecek, as one of the seven speakers, presented an update on the CAR-T Pipeline for multiple myeloma.  

The full news article (in German) is available at the UKW website.

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.