ST. LOUIS, MO and SAN DIEGO, CA, July 19, 2022 – Wugen, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of allogeneic cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) for WU-CART-007, the company’s off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapy. WU-CART-007 is currently being explored for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL).
“We are very pleased to have received both fast track and rare pediatric disease designations, which re-affirm the great unmet need for new treatment options for people with R/R T-ALL/LBL,” said Dan Kemp, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Wugen. “Earlier this year, we dosed the first patient in our ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of WU-CART-007 for R/R T-ALL/LBL and are currently in the dose escalation phase of the study. We look forward to working closely with the FDA as we continue to advance WU-CART-007 through clinical development.”
The FDA’s Fast Track is a process designed by the FDA to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. According to the FDA, the purpose is to get important new drugs to the patient earlier. Features of Fast Track Designation include opportunities for more frequent interactions with the FDA review team and, if supported by clinical data, eligibility for Priority Review.
A rare pediatric disease designation is granted for drugs intended for the prevention or treatment of rare diseases that primarily affect individuals under 18 years old, with recipients of this designation potentially qualifying for a priority review voucher if certain conditions are met. The priority review voucher may be redeemed, transferred, or sold.
WU-CART-007 is currently being evaluated for safety and efficacy in patients with R/R T-ALL/LBL in a global, open-label, first-in-human, Phase 1/2 study (NCT#04984356).
About WU-CART-007
WU-CART-007 is an allogeneic, off-the-shelf, fratricide-resistant CD7-targeted CAR-T cell therapy engineered to overcome the technological challenges of harnessing CAR-T cells to treat CD7+ hematological malignancies. Wugen is deploying CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to delete CD7 and the T-cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC), preventing CAR-T cell fratricide and mitigating the risk of graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD). WU-CART-007 is manufactured using healthy donor-derived T-cells to eliminate the risk of malignant cell contamination historically observed in the autologous CAR-T setting. WU-CART-007 is currently being evaluated in a global Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL). Additional information is available on clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT# 04984356.
