Hematologic Diseases

SHANGHAI, Jan. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2171.HK), a company focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, announces that KJ-C2320, an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD38, has administered the first dose to a patient in an investigator-initiated trial (IIT). KJ-C2320 is developed based on CARsgen's THANK-uCAR® platform. An investigator-initiated trial is ongoing in China to evaluate KJ-C2320 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML). About THANK-uCAR® THANK (Target to Hinder the Attack of NK cells)-uCAR® is CARsgen's proprietary technology to generate allogeneic CAR-T cells with improved expansion and persistence by modifying donor-derived T cells. To minimize graft versus host disease (GvHD) and host versus graft response (HvGR) from allogeneic T cells, we disrupt the genomic loci encoding TCR and beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) to eliminate surface expression of the TCR or the human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I), an approach that has been validated by previous research. However, natural killer (NK) cells can attack T cells without HLA-I expression, which then limits the expansion and persistence of the allogeneic CAR-T cells. To protect the allogeneic CAR-T cells from the patient's NK cells' attacks, we arm these TCR-/B2M-T cells with a CAR that recognizes NKG2A to hinder the NKG2A-positive NK cell rejection of the CAR T cells and therefore allow the THANK-uCAR-T cells to resist the attack by NK cells. Clinical studies have demonstrated that the BCMA CAR-T therapy developed on the THANK-uCAR® platform can expand in patients achieving complete response to levels comparable to autologous CAR-T, showing preliminary evidence of controllable safety and promising efficacy. About CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited CARsgen is a biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the U.S., focusing on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. CARsgen has established a comprehensive CAR T-cell research and development platform that covers target discovery, innovative CAR T-cell development, clinical trials, and commercial-scale production. Internally, CARsgen has developed novel technologies and a product pipeline with global rights to address significant challenges faced by existing CAR T-cell therapies. Efforts include improving safety profile, enhancing the efficacy in treating solid tumors, and reducing treatment costs. CARsgen's mission is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that provides innovative and differentiated cell therapies for cancer patients worldwide and makes cancer curable. Forward-looking Statements All statements in this press release that are not historical fact or that do not relate to present facts or current conditions are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements express the Group's current views, projections, beliefs and expectations with respect to future events as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and factors beyond the Group's control. As a result, they are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements and the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those detailed under the heading "Principal Risks and Uncertainties" in our most recent annual report and interim report and other announcements and reports made available on our corporate website, . No representation or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts contained in this press release. Contact CARsgen For more information, please visit SOURCE CARsgen Therapeutics WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Calquence is forecast to generate up to $4.7bn in sales by 2030, as per GlobalData intelligence. Credit: Nadezhda Fedrunova via Getty Images. AstraZeneca has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, Calquence (acalabrutinib), for first-line use in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). This approval makes Calquence the first BTK inhibitor available for adults with untreated MCL who are unsuitable for autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and allows its use in combination with chemoimmunotherapy. The FDA granted approval based on data from the Phase III ECHO trial (NCT02972840). The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolled 598 patients aged 65 or older with untreated MCL who were unsuitable for HSCT. Patients were randomised to receive Calquence with chemotherapy bendamustine and Biogen and Genentech’s Rituxan (rituximab) or placebo plus bendamustine and Rituxan. Efficacy was measured by progression-free survival (PFS) and evaluated by an independent review committee. The median PFS was 66.4 months in the Calquence plus BR arm, compared to 49.6 months in the placebo plus bendamustine and Rituxan arm. The trial demonstrated a 27% improvement in PFS for Calquence over placebo. MCL is a rare and aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, often diagnosed in later stages and characterised by the malignant transformation of B lymphocytes in the lymph node mantle zone. Calquence, a next-generation selective and irreversible BTK inhibitor, binds covalently to the BTK active site to inhibit enzymatic activity, suppressing the proliferation and survival of malignant B cells. AstraZeneca’s Calquence now holds a first-mover advantage in the treatment-naive MCL market, outpacing competitors such as BeiGene’s Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), Eli Lilly’s Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib), InnoCare’s Inokai (orelabrutinib), all of which remain in late-stage clinical trials for this indication. AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J’s) Imbruvica (ibrutinib) was previously positioned to lead the market but lost its accelerated approval in 2023 after the Phase III SHINE trial (NCT01776840) showed no overall survival benefit and a 7% increase in mortality risk for Imbruvica-treated patients. GlobalData projects that Calquence could generate up to $4.7bn in sales by 2030. With this FDA approval, AstraZeneca is poised to capitalise on its lead in the competitive BTK inhibitor market. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.

TOKYO, Japan & BASKING RIDGE, NJ, USA I January 17, 2055 I DATROWAY ® (datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk) has been approved in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2 negative (IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received prior endocrine-based therapy and chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease. DATROWAY is a specifically engineered TROP2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN). DATROWAY is the second DXd ADC approved in the U.S. based on Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC Technology. The approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on results from the TROPION-Breast01 phase 3 trial. In the trial, DATROWAY significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 37% compared to investigator’s choice of chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR]=0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52-0.76; p<0.0001) in patients with HR positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.9 months in patients treated with DATROWAY versus 4.9 months with chemotherapy. A confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 36% was observed in the DATROWAY arm compared to an ORR of 23% observed in the chemotherapy arm. Two (0.5%) complete responses (CR) and 131 (36%) partial responses (PR) were observed in the DATROWAY arm compared to zero CR and 84 PR (23%) in the chemotherapy arm. The median duration of response (DoR) was 6.7 months (95% CI: 5.6-9.8) in the DATROWAY arm compared to 5.7 (95% CI: 4.9-6.8) in the chemotherapy arm. “Despite considerable progress in the HR positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer treatment landscape, new therapies are still needed to tackle the frequent and complex challenge of disease progression after endocrine and initial chemotherapy,” said Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, Program Director of Breast Oncology and Director of Translational Research Integration at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Global Principal Investigator for TROPION-Breast01. “The approval of datopotamab deruxtecan, a novel TROP2 directed antibody drug conjugate, marks a major therapeutic milestone and provides patients with metastatic breast cancer a new treatment alternative to conventional chemotherapy.” “Only one in three patients with metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer live more than five years following diagnosis, highlighting the urgent need for additional effective therapies,” said Caitlin Lewis, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Mission, Living Beyond Breast Cancer. “The approval of DATROWAY is a significant advance, offering patients with metastatic HR positive breast cancer a new and much needed treatment option.” In TROPION-Breast01, the safety of DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) was evaluated in 360 patients. The most common (>20%) adverse reactions, including laboratory abnormalities, were stomatitis, nausea, fatigue, decreased leukocytes, decreased calcium, alopecia, decreased lymphocytes, decreased hemoglobin, constipation, decreased neutrophils, dry eye, increased alanine transaminase, vomiting, increased aspartate aminotransferase, increased alkaline phosphatase, and keratitis. Serious adverse reactions among patients who received DATROWAY included urinary tract infection (1.9%), COVID-19 infection (1.7%), interstitial lung disease (ILD)/pneumonitis (1.1%), acute kidney injury (0.6%), pulmonary embolism (0.6%), vomiting (0.6%), diarrhea (0.6%), hemiparesis (0.6%), and anemia (0.6%). One patient fatality (0.3%) was attributed to an adverse reaction (ILD/pneumonitis). “The approval of DATROWAY provides patients with HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer previously treated with endocrine-based therapy and traditional chemotherapy with the opportunity to be treated with a new TROP2 directed antibody drug conjugate earlier in the metastatic setting,” said Ken Keller, Global Head of Oncology Business, and President and CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. “DATROWAY is the latest addition to our portfolio of innovative cancer treatments and marks the fourth medicine from our oncology pipeline to receive approval in the U.S.” “With this first approval of DATROWAY in the U.S., we continue to deliver on our ambition for antibody drug conjugates to improve upon and replace conventional chemotherapy for the treatment of multiple cancers,” said Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Hematology Business Unit, AstraZeneca. “We are proud to bring DATROWAY to people living with metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer, and this approval marks the eighth new medicine of the 20 we have set out to deliver across AstraZeneca by 2030.” DATROWAY will be available by prescription in the U.S. in approximately two weeks. Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca are committed to ensuring that patients in the U.S. who are prescribed DATROWAY can access the medication and receive necessary financial support. Provider and patient support, reimbursement and distribution for DATROWAY in the U.S. will be accessible by visiting Datroway4u.com or calling 1-855-DAT-RO4U (1-855-328-7648). Additional regulatory submissions for DATROWAY in breast cancer are under review in the EU, China and other regions. Please visit www.DATROWAY.com for full Prescribing Information , including the Medication Guide . About TROPION-Breast01 TROPION-Breast01 is a global, randomized, multicenter, open-label phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of intravenous DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) once per 21-day cycle versus investigator’s choice of single-agent chemotherapy (eribulin, capecitabine, vinorelbine or gemcitabine) in adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative (IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have progressed on and are not suitable for endocrine therapy per investigator assessment and have received at least one prior line of chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease. Following disease progression or discontinuation of DATROWAY or chemotherapy, patients had the option to receive a subsequent treatment at the discretion of their physician. Crossover between trial arms was not permitted. The dual primary endpoints of TROPION-Breast01 are PFS as assessed by BICR and OS. Key secondary endpoints include ORR, duration of response, investigator-assessed PFS, disease control rate, time to first subsequent therapy and safety. The PFS data and additional results for key secondary endpoints of TROPION-Breast01 were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology . TROPION-Breast01 enrolled 732 patients in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. For more information visit ClinicalTrials.gov . About Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2 Negative Breast Cancer In the U.S., more than 300,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually. 1 While survival rates are high for those diagnosed with early breast cancer, only about 30% of patients diagnosed with or who progress to metastatic disease are expected to live five years following diagnosis. 2 Approximately 70% of diagnosed cases are considered what has been historically called HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer (measured as HER2 score of IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-). 2 Endocrine therapies are widely given consecutively in the early lines of treatment for HR positive metastatic breast cancer. 3 However, after initial treatment, further efficacy from endocrine therapy is often limited. 3 The current standard of care following endocrine therapy is chemotherapy, which is associated with poor response rates and outcomes. 3,4,5,6 About DATROWAY DATROWAY (datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk) is a TROP2 directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary DXd ADC Technology, DATROWAY is one of six DXd ADCs in the oncology pipeline of Daiichi Sankyo, and one of the most advanced programs in AstraZeneca’s ADC scientific platform. DATROWAY is comprised of a humanized anti-TROP2 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, developed in collaboration with Sapporo Medical University, attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) is approved in the U.S. and Japan for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative (IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received prior endocrine-based therapy and chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease based on the results from the TROPION-Breast01 trial. About the DATROWAY Clinical Development Program A comprehensive global clinical development program is underway with more than 20 trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of DATROWAY across multiple cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer and HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. The program includes seven phase 3 trials in lung cancer and five phase 3 trials in breast cancer evaluating DATROWAY as a monotherapy and in combination with other anticancer treatments in various settings. About the Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca Collaboration Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize ENHERTU ® in March 2019 and DATROWAY in July 2020 , except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo maintains exclusive rights for each ADC. Daiichi Sankyo is responsible for the manufacturing and supply of ENHERTU and DATROWAY. About the ADC Portfolio of Daiichi Sankyo The Daiichi Sankyo ADC portfolio consists of seven ADCs in clinical development crafted from two distinct ADC technology platforms discovered in-house by Daiichi Sankyo. The ADC platform furthest in clinical development is Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC Technology where each ADC consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. The DXd ADC portfolio currently consists of ENHERTU, a HER2 directed ADC, and DATROWAY, a TROP2 directed ADC, which are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with AstraZeneca. Patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), a HER3 directed ADC, ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), a B7-H3 directed ADC, and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), a CDH6 directed ADC, are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with Merck & Co., Inc, Rahway, NJ, USA. DS-3939, a TA-MUC1 directed ADC, is being developed by Daiichi Sankyo. The second Daiichi Sankyo ADC platform consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a modified pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) payload. DS-9606, a CLDN6 directed PBD ADC, is the first of several planned ADCs in clinical development utilizing this platform. Ifinatamab deruxtecan, patritumab deruxtecan, raludotatug deruxtecan, DS-3939 and DS-9606 are investigational medicines that have not been approved for any indication in any country. Safety and efficacy have not been established. DATROWAY U.S. Important Safety Information Indication DATROWAY ® is a Trop-2-directed antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor conjugate indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative (IHC 0, IHC 1+, or IHC 2+/ISH−) breast cancer who have received prior endocrine-based therapy and chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease. Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information , including the Medication Guide . About Daiichi Sankyo Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development of society that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around the world. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science and technology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases with high unmet medical need. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com . References 1 American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Breast Cancer. Accessed January 2025. 2 National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer Subtypes. Accessed January 2025. 3 Manohar P, et al. Cancer Biol Med. 2022 Feb 15; 19(2):202–212. 4 Cortes J, et al. Lancet. 2011;377:914-923. 5 Yuan P, et al. Eur J Cancer. 2019;112:57-65. 6 Jerusalem G, et al. JAMA Oncol. 2018;4(10):1367–1374. SOURCE: Daiichi Sankyo