Full Press Release Details
Announces a New CAR Architecture Controlling CAR T-Cell Functions
a Nature Publishing Group Journal
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 11, 2016--Regulatory News:
Cellectis (Paris:ALCLS) (NASDAQ:CLLS) (Alternext: ALCLS - Nasdaq: CLLS)
today announced the publication of a study in Scientific Reports, a
Nature Publishing Group journal, describing the design and development
of a new CAR architecture with an integrated switch-on system that
permits control over CAR T-cell functions. This integrated switch-on
system offers the advantages of controllable CAR T-cells for safety
while allowing for the possibility of multiple cytotoxicity cycles using
a small molecule drug.
The possibility to control spatially and temporally the CAR T activity
is very desirable to mitigate potential unwanted risks, such as
cytokine-release syndrome1 (CRS) and the "on-target,
off-tumor" effect2. To date, few strategies are
available and mostly rely on suicide mechanisms that ultimately lead to
a complete eradication of the engineered T-cells, thus resulting in a
premature end of the treatment. Consequently, implementing non-lethal,
spatio-temporal control of gene edited CAR T-cells represents an
important advancement in improving the CAR T-cell technology.
In this report, Alexandre Juillerat, Ph.D., and his collaborators
engineered a system directly integrated within the CAR architecture. In
particular, they showed that such system turns a CAR T-cell from an
off-state to an on-state upon addition of a small molecule, inducing the
cytolytic properties of the gene edited T-cell. Overall, this non-lethal
system not only offers the advantage of a temporal control of activation
to mitigate the risk of CAR-induced toxicities but also enables
opportunities for spatial activation of the engineered CAR T-cells using
local targeted drug delivery.
Alexandre Juillerat, Ph.D. Innovation Senior Scientist
Dr. Alexandre Juillerat, Ph.D., graduated in Chemistry of the University
of Lausanne, Switzerland. After receiving in 2006 his Ph.D. in protein
engineering from the cole Polytechnique F d rale de Lausanne
(EPFL, Switzerland), he moved to the laboratory of Structural Immunology
at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, performing structure-function
studies on a major adhesin of plasmodium falciparum. In 2010, he joined
the R&D department of Cellectis in Paris, France, working on the
development and implementation of sequence specific designer nucleases
including the transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN ).
He then joined the Cellectis facility based in New York, NY, USA,
leading projects associated with the development of the T-cell chimeric
antigen receptor (CAR) technology.
Design of chimeric antigen receptors with integrated controllable
Alexandre Juillerat, Alan Marechal, Jean-Marie Filhol, Julien Valton,
Aymeric Duclert, Laurent Poirot and Philippe Duchateau
Cellectis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing
immunotherapies based on gene edited CAR-T cells (UCART). The company's
mission is to develop a new generation of cancer therapies based on
engineered T-cells. Cellectis capitalizes on its 16 years of expertise
in genome engineering - based on its flagship TALEN products and
meganucleases and pioneering electroporation PulseAgile technology - to
create a new generation of immunotherapies. CAR technologies are
designed to target surface antigens expressed on cells. Using its
life-science-focused, pioneering genome-engineering technologies,
Cellectis' goal is to create innovative products in multiple fields and
with various target markets. Cellectis S.A. is listed on the Nasdaq
Global Market (ticker: CLLS) and on the NYSE Alternext market (ticker:
ALCLS). To find out more about us, visit our website: www.cellectis.com
Talking about gene editing? We do it.
TALEN is a registered
trademark owned by the Cellectis Group.
This press release and the information contained herein do not
constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an offer
to buy or subscribe, for shares in Cellectis in any country. This press
release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company's
objectives based on the current expectations and assumptions of the
Company's management only and involve risk and uncertainties that could
cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the
forward-looking statements above.
1 CAR T-cell therapy can cause several worrisome side
effects, including the cytokine-release syndrome. The infused T-cells
release cytokines, which are chemical messengers that help the T-cells
carry out their duties. With cytokine-release syndrome, there is a rapid
and massive release of cytokines into the bloodstream, which can lead to
dangerously high fevers and precipitous drops in blood pressure.
2 Off-tumor/on-target toxicities are the recognition of
normal tissues expressing the tumor-associated antigen.
Jennifer Moore, 917-580-1088
KCSA Strategic Communications
Harnest, 646-385-9008
VP Finance and Investor Relations