GC Cell Starts Dosing for Phase 1 Clinical Trial of 'AloNK' Combination Therapy for Lupus Nephritis Treatment

GC Cell's (GC Cell) U.S. affiliate, Artiva Biotherapeutics, announced on the 18th that it has started dosing the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical trial of the combination therapy of AlloNK (AB-101), being developed as a treatment for lupus nephritis, and rituximab.

Artiva Biotherapeutics logo [Photo by Artiva]

AlloNK (AB-101) is an off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapy derived from cryopreserved umbilical cord blood. Unlike many existing cell therapies that are autologous treatments made from cells derived from the patient themselves, AlloNK is produced using an allogeneic method derived from previously preserved umbilical cord blood. GC Cell has licensed the technology to Artiva, and in February, the combination therapy for lupus nephritis received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Artiva analyzed blood samples from patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), a malignant tumor originating in lymphoid tissue, who received combination therapy of rituximab and AlloNK in Phase 1/2 clinical trials. The analysis confirmed that in all 29 patients, peripheral blood B cell levels decreased to undetectable levels compared to baseline within 8 days after the start of clinical treatment. This analysis excluded one patient who showed B cell reduction on day 15 after clinical treatment.

Fred Aslan, CEO of Artiva, said, “We are pleased to offer an innovative treatment option through AlloNK to patients suffering from various autoimmune diseases,” adding, “This dosing marks the first patient dosing in a U.S. autoimmune disease clinical trial of an off-the-shelf allogeneic NK cell therapy, and based on the non-Hodgkin lymphoma clinical results, we were able to demonstrate its applicability to B cell-related autoimmune diseases.”