Cellenkos Announces First Patient Dosed with CK0804 Cell Therapy in LIMBER-TREG108 Clinical Trial

• First patient dosed with CK0804 Treg cells as an add on therapy to ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis who experience a suboptimal response to ruxolitinib.
• On-going Phase 1b study evaluating safety of CK0804

HOUSTON, Jan. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellenkos Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of allogeneic, off-the-shelf, T regulatory cell therapies targeting inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases, today announced that the first patient was dosed in the Phase 1b LIMBER-TREG108 study evaluating CK0804 as an add on therapy to ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis who experience a suboptimal response to ruxolitinib. CK0804 is a novel allogeneic, CXCR4 enriched, T regulatory cell therapy product that utilizes Cellenkos' proprietary CRANE™ technology to generate disease specific products. 

The LIMBER-TREG108 trial (NCT05423691) is part of a development collaboration between Cellenkos and Incyte.

"This is an exciting milestone for our company. The initiation of this study of CK0804 as on add on therapy to ruxolitinib is an important achievement that brings us closer to delivering a potential new treatment which may have a life-changing impact for myelofibrosis patients who have less than optimal response to treatment with ruxolitinib," said Tara Sadeghi, Chief Operating Officer of Cellenkos Inc., "Myelofibrosis patients who do not respond to ruxolitinib have limited treatment options and can progress to leukemia. This experimental immunotherapy treatment in combination with the standard of care may represent a new hope for the patients with myelofibrosis potentially enhancing the efficacy of current JAK inhibitor therapy while also offering possible immune modulation and restoration of impacted hematopoiesis."

LIMBER-TREG108 is a multicenter study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Columbia Hospital and University of California, Davis. The study is led by principal investigator Lucia Masarova, M.D., Assistant Professor of Leukemia at MD Anderson. This Phase 1b study will evaluate the safety, pharmacodynamics and immunogenicity of intravenous CK0804, administered monthly for up to 6 doses. The study will consist of 2 phases: an open-label safety run-in of 9 patients (Stage 1) and an expansion cohort of 15 additional patients (Stage 2).

"We are pleased that the first patient first dose milestone in the LIMBER-TREG108 study – one of several studies in our LIMBER clinical program evaluating multiple monotherapy and combination strategies to improve and expand treatments for patients with MPNs – has been achieved. We look forward to the results of the study, and to continuing our partnership toward important scientific advances for these patients," said Ekaterine Asatiani, M.D., Division Vice President and Head of Early Development at Incyte.

Myelofibrosis is a rare, chronic and progressive blood cancer that is part of a group of diseases known as myeloproliferative neoplasms. In myelofibrosis, scar tissue forms in the bone marrow and impairs its ability to produce normal blood cells. This can result in an enlarged spleen, as well as symptoms such as fatigue, itching and night sweats, which can severely impact a patient's quality of life. About 16,000 to 18,500 people in the U.S. are living with myelofibrosis^1. Patients who have had a suboptimal response to the standard of care treatment have limited options and a poor prognosis.

CK0804 is a novel allogenic cell therapy product consisting of T-regulatory cells that exploit the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis and are derived from clinical-grade umbilical cord blood units and manufactured using Cellenkos' proprietary CRANE™ process. Multiple doses of CK0804 can be manufactured from a single umbilical cord blood unit, where the final cryopreserved product is readily available for use. No requirement for HLA matching to the patients makes CK0804 an ideal therapy that can be infused intravenously, in the outpatient setting.

Ruxolitinib (Jakafi^®) is a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor approved by the U.S. FDA for treatment of polycythemia vera (PV) in adults who have had an inadequate response to or are intolerant of hydroxyurea; intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis (MF), including primary MF, post-polycythemia vera MF and post-essential thrombocythemia MF in adults; steroid-refractory acute GVHD in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older; and chronic GVHD after failure of one or two lines of systemic therapy in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older².

Jakafi is marketed by Incyte in the United States and by Novartis as Jakavi^® (ruxolitinib) outside the United States. Jakafi is a registered trademark of Incyte Corporation. Jakavi is a registered trademark of Novartis AG in countries outside the United States.

Cellenkos is a clinical-stage biotechnology company located in Houston, Texas, USA, founded in 2016 with the licensing of a proprietary umbilical cord blood T-Regulatory cell therapy platform from The University of Texas at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Being derived from umbilical cord blood, Cellenkos' T-Regulatory cells are naïve, bonafide suppressor cells that resolve inflammation through multiple direct and indirect interactions. Cellenkos is dedicated to the development and commercialization of the allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell-based products for the treatment of rare inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders. For more information, please visit www.cellenkosinc.com.

Disclosure

MD Anderson has an institutional conflict of interest with Cellenkos related to this research and has implemented an Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan

Contact: 
Stacy Minor
[email protected]

¹ https://www.jakafi.com/myelofibrosis/what-is-myelofibrosis
² Jakafi (ruxolitinib) tablets: Prescribing Information. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

SOURCE Cellenkos, Inc.