Obe-cel

Developing potentially life-saving treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases

Mechanism of Action

Obe-cel is an autologous CD19 CAR T cell therapy with a unique CD19 CAR. The CAR is designed to have a “fast-off” kinetic which mimics physiological T-cell receptor interactions. Clinical trials of obe-cel have demonstrated that this enhanced kinetic profile results in increased T cell persistence and reduced T cell exhaustion, leading to high levels of durable remissions and remarkably low levels of cytokine release syndrome.

Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Adult B-ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) is an aggressive type of leukemia characterised by the presence of too many B lymphocytes in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Without treatment adult ALL usually progresses very rapidly. Prognosis for patients based on current treatments is very poor.

Combination chemotherapy enables 90% of adult patients to enter complete remission, but only 30-40% of these patients will achieve long term remission. The median overall survival is < 1 year in r/r adult ALL.

Current therapies are highly active, but achieving long term remissions remains challenging. In the presence of comorbidities some patients are more fragile, yet CAR T toxicities in this setting have been notable with high incidences of severe CRS and cases of fatal neurotoxicity.

A significant unmet need remains for adult ALL patients. A successful therapy requires high level of activity and sustained persistence paired with good tolerability.