The cell and gene therapy company Mustang Bio (Nasdaq:MBIO) will initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial combining CAR T cells and oncolytic virus as a potential therapy for recurrent glioblastoma.
The prognosis for glioblastoma is generally poor with approximately 40% survival in the first year following diagnosis, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
The Worcester, Massachusetts–based company made the announcement after reviewing interim data from two ongoing investigator-sponsored Phase 1 clinical studies testing MB-108 (C134 oncolytic virus) and MB‐101 (City of Hope’s IL13Rα2‐targeted CAR T cell therapy).
Mustang Bio recently shared data supporting the safety of administering MB-108 and MB-101 sequentially in a regimen designated as MB-109 at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022.
“The data presented at the AACR Annual Meeting support the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate combining locoregional delivery of MB-108 and MB-101 as an attractive strategy for improving outcomes for patients with rGBM,” said Christine Brown, the Heritage Provider Network Professor in Immunotherapy at City of Hope, a not-for-profit clinical research and treatment organization.
“We are excited to build on the interim clinical safety and feasibility data for administering either single agent, MB-101 or MB-108, as well as to take advantage of the potential of oncolytic viral therapy to make the tumor immunologically ’hot’ since clinical data suggest that CAR T cells may be more effective in an inflamed tumor microenvironment,” said Brown in a press release.
In mid-day trading, MBIO shares fell 0.058 to $0.86.