The National Cancer Institute (NCI), with Dr. James N. Kochenderfer, M.D., an investigator in the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch of the NCI, is currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of the product candidate in patients with B-cell malignancies under an existing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Kite and the NCI.
Kite Pharma chairman, president, and CEO Arie Belldegrun said: "The expansion of our CAR-T pipeline to include a fully human anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor supports our effort to maximize the potential benefit of CAR-T therapies for patients with advanced B-cell malignancies.
"As the field of T-cell therapy continues its rapid advancement, we remain committed to collaborating with the world's most distinguished institutions and accessing the most significant enabling technologies to pioneer the next generation of T-cell therapies."