Cartesian Therapeutics Doses First Patient in Phase 1 Trial of mRNA CAR-T Therapy Descartes-15

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On September 3, 2024, Cartesian Therapeutics announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 first-in-human trial of the company's next-generation autologous anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) mRNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (mRNA CAR-T), Descartes-15.

Carsten Brunn, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc., said"Descartes-15 entering clinical trials marks an important step in our mission to provide innovative mRNA cell therapies to patients with autoimmune diseases. We believe that Descartes-15, designed based on our novel mRNA platform, can serve as a highly effective next-generation cell therapy that can be administered in an outpatient setting without pre-chemotherapy. We look forward to advancing"into this important project for the development of autoimmune disease indications with high unmet needs."

Descartes-15 is designed to have predictable and controllable pharmacokinetics, including technological advancements that enhance CAR stability, even in the presence of target-driven inhibition against the CAR. Similar to the company’s leading product candidate, Descartes-08, Descartes-15 is designed to not require pre-conditioning chemotherapy and does not use integrating vectors. Compared to Descartes-08, preclinical studies have observed that Descartes-15 achieves approximately a tenfold increase in CAR expression and selective targeted specific killing.

A Phase I dose-escalation trial (NCT06304636) will evaluate the safety and tolerability of Descartes-15 in outpatient subjects with multiple myeloma. Following the Phase I dose-escalation trial, the company expects to subsequently evaluate Descartes-15 in autoimmune diseases.

Reference: Company Announcement