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Allogene Therapeutics and SpringWorks Therapeutics Announce Clinical Collaboration to Evaluate ALLO-715 in Combination with Nirogacestat in Multiple Myeloma
Increasing BCMA Surface Expression with Gamma Secretase Inhibitor Nirogacestat May Enable Deep and Durable Responses to ALLO-715, an Investigational Anti-BCMA
About this update from Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Increasing BCMA Surface Expression with Gamma Secretase Inhibitor Nirogacestat May Enable Deep and Durable Responses to ALLO-715, an Investigational Anti-BCMA Allogeneic CAR T Therapy SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (AlloCAR T™) therapies for cancer and SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, today announced that they have entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement. This agreement will evaluate ALLO-715, Allogene’s investigational anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) AlloCAR T therapy in combination with SpringWorks’ investigational gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI), nirogacestat, in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.\n Gamma secretase inhibition prevents the cleavage and shedding of BCMA from the surface of myeloma cells. In preclinical models, nirogacestat has been shown to increase the cell surface density of BCMA and reduce levels of soluble BCMA, thereby enhancing the activity of BCMA-targeted therapies.1 In addition, emerging clinical data suggest that a GSI may increase antitumor efficacy of BCMA-targeted autologous CAR T therapy in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.2 3 “Autologous CAR T therapy has shown the potential for engineered cell therapy to treat multiple myeloma and provide significant benefits to patients. We believe allogeneic CAR T therapy is the next frontier in genetically engineered cell therapy for the treatment of cancer,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, CEO and Co-Founder of Allogene Therapeutics. “The search to find long-lasting and potentially curative therapies for patients with multiple myeloma continues to evolve. We are pleased with the progress of our ALLO-715 Phase 1 UNIVERSAL trial and are excited to explore the combination of ALLO-715 with nirogacestat as a means to further unlock the potential of allogeneic CAR T therapy in this disease.” Under the terms of the agreement, Allogene will sponsor and conduct the Phase 1 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy ...