Cellectis (Euronext Growth: ALCLS; Nasdaq: CLLS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited off-the-shelf CAR T-cells (UCART), today announced the Company has dosed the first patient in its UCARTCS1 clinical trial, MELANI-01, the first allogeneic off-the-shelf CAR-T product candidate the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared to enter into clinical development for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM). The UCARTCS1 clinical trial is a Phase 1 dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety, expansion, persistence and clinical activity of UCARTCS1 cells in R/R MM patients.
“This first patient dosing for our MELANI-01 clinical trial is an important advancement, as our team has worked tirelessly to develop and take the CS1 target from the lab to the clinic,” said Dr. André Choulika, Chairman and CEO, Cellectis. “In taking this next clinical step, we look forward to deepening our understanding of UCARTCS1 as a potential new treatment option for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients in the future.”
The MELANI-01 clinical trial is currently open at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, under the supervision of Dr. Krina Patel, Principal Investigator, Study Coordinating Investigator, Assistant Professor, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as Hackensack Meridian in New Jersey under the supervision of Dr. David Siegel, Director of the Multiple Myeloma Institute at John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) at Hackensack University Medical Center. Another site is planned to open at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York under the leadership of Dr. Adriana Rossi, Associate Clinical Director, Myeloma Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology.