A New CAR T-Cell Therapy Treatment for ALL

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be a challenging disease because of the side effects that occur, including infections, anemia, bleeding, and bone pain. This cancer develops quickly and an early diagnosis can be the first critical step to effective treatment. The goal is to get patients into remission as effectively and quickly as possible.

Society of Hematologic Oncology

At SOHO 2024, Dr. Elias Jabbour, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discussed the FELIX trial of obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) in ALL that is relapsed or refractory. 

Obe-cel is a CAR-T cell therapy that has a very good safety profile, and it is effective.

CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment for ALL that reprograms your own immune cells to recognize and attack leukemia cells. It offers a targeted option for cases where other treatments haven’t been effective.

According to Dr. Jabbour, the median success rate for obe-cel is 12 months with a 40% remission rate. He hopes this medication can become a more common standard of care and replace the need for a transplant. The early data is very promising.

What Is The FELIX Study (NCT02935257)?

This clinical trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of obe-cel in relapsed/refractory ALL patients. The FDA granted obe-cel advanced therapy designation in May 2022. Here are some of the findings of this study:

• 78% of patients who received obe-cel had a complete response (CR).

• 97% of participants achieved a deep remission with no measurable residual disease (MRD).

• 40% stayed in remission without the need for stem cell transplant or other therapies.

• The median overall survival was 23.8 months.

• See here for dosing methods and medication schedules.

Dr. Paul Shaughnessy, of Methodist Hospital also discussed the FELIX study and the above conclusions. “There is a rapid expansion and persistence of (obe-cel) in many patients, and that persistence is associated with increased event-free survival (EFS),” Dr. Shaughnessy concluded. “There also did not appear to be any advantage to taking these patients to allogeneic stem cell transplant when an MRD negative remission.”

Obe-Cel Is Important For Relapsed/Refractory Patients

By analyzing bone marrow blast percentage, the data is used to guide the dosing plan for each patient. “Unlike other CD19 CAR-T cell therapies, obe-cel is administered to patients as two infusions using a tumor burden-guided dosing schedule,” said Dr. Christian Itin, Chief Executive Officer of Autolus. 

“The data demonstrate the importance of administering both split doses of obe-cel to patients with relapsed/refractory ALL and highlight the differentiation of obe-cel based on its unique binding properties and tumor burden-guided dosing approach.”

Conclusion

Many ALL patients experience several lines of therapy before reaching remission. And that remission is not always durable long-term.

Obe-cel CAR-T therapy gives new hope for patients to reach their remission sooner and remain longer. “The FELIX study demonstrated that obe-cel for adult relapsed or refractory ALL is safe with low rates of [serious side effects], even in patients with high burden disease. Obe-cel is effective with high CR (complete response) rates and ongoing CAR-T persistence in the majority of responders.”

If you’re curious about other treatments for ALL, read our 101 ALL Treatments Page. 

What Are Treatments for ALL?