Gracell Biotechnologies to Present Data Highlighting Preclinical Efficacy of SMART CART™ Against Solid Tumors at Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting
31 Oktober 2023 - 2:00PM
Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. (“Gracell” or the “Company”, NASDAQ:
GRCL), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated
to developing innovative and highly efficacious cell therapies
for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease, announced today
preclinical data from the Company’s SMART CART™* technology for
solid tumors will be presented as a poster at the Society for
Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting, taking place
November 1-5, 2023, in San Diego and online.
“Gracell has long been dedicated to unlocking
the tremendous potential of CAR-T therapy against solid tumors in
our pursuit of transformative cell therapies. We are thrilled to
present the encouraging preclinical data from SMART CART, our
next-generation solid tumor technology,” said Dr. Lianjun Shen,
Gracell’s Senior Vice President, Head of Research &
Development. “Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment is a known
challenge that limits CAR-T cell proliferation and persistence,
and, ultimately, its effectiveness against solid tumors. We believe
our research to be presented at SITC demonstrates SMART CART’s
improved resistance to TME and superior in vitro and in vivo
preclinical efficacy. We look forward to advancing the clinical IIT
evaluating SMART CART GC506 for the treatment of Claudin 18.2
positive tumors, building upon the success we have seen with
Gracell’s work in hematologic cancers.”
SMART CART is Gracell’s next generation CAR-T
technology against solid tumors, designed to enhance CAR-T cell
proliferation and persistence in suppressive TME, as well as
duration of tumor killing. Immunosuppressive TME presents a major
barrier to the efficacy of CAR-T in solid tumors. Research has
shown that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a major mediator
of T cell suppression in TME. To combat the suppressive TME,
Gracell designed the proprietary switch receptor, SMART CART, to
block the inhibitory TGF-β signal and convert it to a supportive
signaling by combining with a stimulatory molecule for CAR-T
functionality enhancement.
In the preclinical studies, SMART CART cells
demonstrated enhanced resistance to TGF-β-mediated apoptosis and
exhaustion. Upon repeated challenges of tumor cells, SMART CART
cells showed more potent and durable tumor-specific lysis than the
conventional CAR-T both in vitro and in vivo in the presence of
TGF-β. Especially in mouse models, SMART CART exhibited better
killing activities in tumor re-challenge studies and high tumor
burden studies, compared with conventional CAR-T. Additional
preclinical data will be presented at the poster presentation.
Poster presentation details are as follows:
- Abstract title:
SMART CAR-T cells resist tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment
with enhanced efficacy against solid tumors
- Abstract number:
248
- Abstract category:
Cellular Therapies – Chimeric Antigen Receptors
- Poster hall time:
Saturday, Nov. 4, 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM PT
Additional information about this year’s SITC Annual Meeting is
available here.
* SMART CART™ — Suppressive Molecule
Activated and Rejuvenated T cells
About SMART CART™Suppressive
Molecule Activated and Rejuvenated T cells (SMART CART™) is
Gracell’s proprietary technology module designed to further
strengthen the functionality of CAR-T cells and aims to overcome
tumor microenvironment (TME). SMART CART™ includes altered
expression of the receptor and signaling mechanism of an inhibitory
TME molecule, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), to enhance
expansion and persistence and to reduce the exhaustion of CAR-T
cells. This design reverses and turns immunosuppressive signals of
TME into stimulatory reactions of CAR-T cells. SMART CART™
technology can be applied to many targets for the treatment of
solid tumors.
About Gracell Gracell
Biotechnologies Inc. (“Gracell”) is a global clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing
breakthrough cell therapies for the treatment of cancers and
autoimmune diseases. Leveraging its innovative FasTCAR and TruUCAR
technology platforms and SMART CART™ technology module, Gracell is
developing a rich clinical-stage pipeline of multiple autologous
and allogeneic product candidates with the potential to overcome
major industry challenges that persist with conventional CAR-T
therapies, including lengthy manufacturing time, suboptimal cell
quality, high therapy cost, and lack of effective CAR-T therapies
for solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. The lead candidate
BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting FasTCAR-T GC012F is currently being
evaluated in clinical studies for the treatment of multiple
myeloma, B-NHL and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). For more
information on Gracell, please visit
www.gracellbio.com. Follow @GracellBio on LinkedIn.
Cautionary Notes Regarding
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about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any
other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts,
may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words
“anticipate,” “look forward to,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,”
“predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain
these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from
those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of
various important factors, including factors discussed in the
section entitled “Risk Factors” in Gracell’s most recent annual
report on Form 20-F, as well as discussions of potential risks,
uncertainties, and other important factors in Gracell’s subsequent
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date hereof. Gracell specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether due to
new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers should not
rely upon the information on this page as current or accurate after
its publication date.
Media Contacts
Marvin Tang
marvin.tang@gracellbio.com
Jessica Laub
jessica.laub@westwicke.com
Investor contacts
Gracie Tong
gracie.tong@gracellbio.com
Stephanie Carrington
stephanie.carrington@westwicke.com
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