Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) latest research results on CAR-T therapy released

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) recently announced the latest research results of its phase 3 clinical trial CARTITUDE-4. The results showed that Carvykit (cilta-cel), a CAR-T cell therapy developed by Legend Biologics in collaboration with J&J, significantly improved the rate of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who had received 1 to 3 treatment regimens, including proteasome inhibitors, compared with standard treatment. MRD is an important prognostic factor for extending the survival of multiple myeloma patients, and MRD negativity means that cancer cells cannot be detected by sensitive detection methods in the blood.

Cilta-cel is a CAR-T cell immunotherapy targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), which is mainly expressed on the surface of malignant multiple myeloma B cells and plasma cells. The chimeric antigen receptor protein of Cilta-cel contains two binding domains targeting BCMA, aiming to bind BCMA with high affinity. After binding to cells expressing BCMA, the chimeric antigen receptor can promote the activation, proliferation, and clearance of T cells and target cells. Cilta-cel was originally developed by Legend Biologics. In December 2017, J&J's subsidiary Janssen signed an exclusive global license and collaboration agreement with Legend Biologics to co-develop and commercialize cilta-cel.