PR99290

 PeproMene Bio, Inc. Announced Complete Response of The First Patient Treated in Its B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (B-NHL) Phase 1 Clinical Trial of PMB-CT01 (BAFFR-CAR T Cells) at City of Hope

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

PeproMene Bio, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company developing novel

therapies to treat cancers and immune disorders, today announced that the first

patient treated in its phase 1 relapsed or refractory B-cell Non-Hodgkin

Lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) clinical trial of PMB-CT01 (BAFFR-CAR T Cells) has reached

Complete Response at 1-month post treatment. The trial is taking place at City

of Hope (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3742027-1&h=30257641&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cityofhope.org%2F&a=City+of+Hope

), one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United

States.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1972356/Pepromene_Bio_Inc__Logo.jpg

During the first month of treatment, the patient only experienced low grade

treatment emergent toxicities, including grade 1 cytokine release syndrome

("CRS") with full recovery and no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity

syndrome ("ICANS"). "This mantle cell lymphoma patient has been refractory to

several prior lines of treatment including chemoimmunotherapy, BTK inhibitor,

Venetoclax, and CD19-CAR T therapy.  We are pleased to see a deep complete

remission which is minimal residual disease negative," said Elizabeth Budde (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3742027-1&h=800132700&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cityofhope.org%2Felizabeth-budde&a=Elizabeth+Budde

), M.D., Ph.D., City of Hope associate professor, Division of Lymphoma,

Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and the principal

investigator of this single-center, dose escalation trial (NCT05370430).

"Despite high initial efficacy of CD19-CAR T cell treatment for B-cell lymphoma

and leukemia, there is a significant unmet medical need for those patients who

unfortunately relapse," said Larry W. Kwak (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3742027-1&h=765501950&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cityofhope.org%2Flarry-kwak&a=Larry+W.+Kwak

), M.D., Ph.D., vice president and deputy director of City of Hope's

Comprehensive Cancer Center and PeproMene's scientific founder and compensated

chair of its  Scientific Advisory Board. Kwak has an equity interest in

PeproMene. "As BAFF-R is a novel tumor target for B-cell malignancies, I am

hoping BAFFR-CAR T therapy will offer a clinically meaningful, new option for

those patients."

"The acceptable safety profile and early complete response of our first B-NHL

patient treated PMB-CT01 is an unprecedented milestone in the development and

evaluation of PMB-CT01. These initial clinical outcomes are supported by City

of Hope preclinical research data published in Science Translational Medicine

in 2019, which showed that PMB-CT01 (BAFFR-CAR T Cells) can overcome CD19

antigen loss in B-cell malignancies," said Hazel Cheng, Ph.D., COO of PeproMene.

About PMB-CT01

PMB-CT01 is a first-in-class BAFFR-targeted, autologous CAR T cell therapy.  

BAFF-R (B Cell Activating Factor Receptor), a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)

receptor superfamily member, is the main receptor for BAFF expressing almost

exclusively on B cells. Since BAFF-R signaling promotes normal B-cell

proliferation and appears to be required for B-cell survival, it is unlikely

tumor cells could escape immune responses via loss of BAFF-R antigen. This

unique characteristic makes BAFF-R CAR T therapy a great potential treatment of

B cell malignancies.  BAFF-R CAR-T was constructed using the anti-BAFF-R scFv

(single-chain fragment variable) antibodies with the 2nd generation signaling

domains containing CD3(zeta) and 4-1BB. Our research has found that BAFFR-CAR T

cells kill human lymphomas and leukemias in vitro as well as in animal models.

PeproMene has licensed intellectual property relating to PMB-CT01, from City of

Hope.

About PeproMene

PeproMene is a clinical-stage biotech company in Irvine, California developing

novel therapies to treat cancers and immune disorders. PeproMene's lead

candidate, PMB-CT01 (BAFFR-CAR T Cells) is currently being investigated to

treat relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL;

NCT04690595) and B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL; NCT05370430) in phase 1

clinical trials.  PeproMene is also developing BAFFR Bispecific T Cell Engager

and BAFFR-CAR NK cells. For more information, contact Hazel Cheng, Ph.D. of

PeproMene Bio Inc. at hazel.cheng@pepromenebio.com or visit

www.pepromenebio.com.

SOURCE: PeproMene Bio, Inc.