FDA-approved CAR T cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

City of Hope announced that it has been certified to administer tisagenlecleucel (commercial name Kymriah) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy — the first CAR T cell therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — to patients up to 25 years of age with B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory or in second or later relapse.

 

City of Hope is one of the only institutions in Southern California to currently offer both tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel (commercial name Yescarta), the second CAR T cell therapy approved by the FDA, solidifying City of Hope’s position as a leader in this newest form of cancer immunotherapy.

 

Tisagenlecleucel, a Novartis product, is a CAR T therapy and one-time treatment that uses a patient's own T cells to fight B cell precursor ALL that has resisted all treatment options or has relapsed a second or subsequent time.  

 

City of Hope is a recognized leader in the advancement of CAR T cell therapies. City of Hope applies its proprietary CAR T cell technology in active preclinical and clinical programs across a range of hematologic cancers and solid tumors, and collaborates with other academic researchers and global biopharmaceutical companies to advance clinical research in areas of high unmet medical need and make their therapies available to patients.

 

City of Hope’s Department of Pediatrics has a long history dating back to the early 1960s. In addition to offering Kymriah to eligible pediatric patients, City of Hope also offers CAR T clinical trials to patients with ALL ages 18 and up, and patients ages 12 and up with acute myeloid leukemia and glioblastoma.