Celyad Oncology Reports First Half 2022 Financial Results and Recent Business Highlights

Mont-Saint-Guibert, BelgiumCelyad Oncology SA (Euronext & Nasdaq: CYAD) (the ‘Company’), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies for cancer, announced an update on its financial results and recent business developments for the first half ended June 30, 2022.

‘As the Company continues to evolve, we are excited about a renewed focus on additional value drivers for Celyad Oncology. Importantly, with our world-class intellectual property focused on allogeneic CAR T technology, we have multiple opportunities for partnerships with peers in the industry,’ commented Michel Lussier, interim Chief Executive Officer of Celyad Oncology. ‘We also were proud to recently announce that the FDA lifted the clinical hold on our CYAD-101 program. In addition, we look forward to the upcoming data read out for CYAD-211 in the second half of 2022. We are truly ushering in a new chapter for Celyad Oncology by unlocking the potential of not only our product candidates, but also our portfolio of IP, technology, and overall expertise in cell therapy.’

Second Quarter 2022 and Recent Business Highlights

The Board of Directors named Hilde Windels as Chair of the Board of Directors

Michel Lussier named Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company

Pipeline and Business Updates

CYAD-211 – Allogeneic shRNA-based, anti-BCMA CAR T for r/r MM

CYAD-211 is an investigational, short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-based allogeneic CAR T candidate for the treatment of r/r MM. CYAD-211 is engineered to co-express a B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) targeting CAR and a single shRNA, which interferes with the expression of the CD3? component of the T-cell receptor (TCR) complex.

Preliminary data reported in December 2021 from the dose-escalation segment of the IMMUNICY-1 Phase 1 trial evaluating CYAD-211 following cyclophosphamide/fludarabine (CyFlu) preconditioning chemotherapy in patients with r/r MM showed evidence of clinical activity with a good tolerability profile including no evidence of Graft versus Host Disease. In addition, all patients in the trial had detectable CYAD-211 cells in the peripheral blood.

Enrollment is currently ongoing in the IMMUNICY-1 Phase 1 trial to evaluate enhanced lymphodepletion (eLD) and increased CYAD-211 doses with the aim to improve cell persistence and potentially maximize the clinical benefit of CYAD-211. The IMMUNICY-1 protocol also allows for CYAD-211 redosing in certain patients.

Additional data updates from the eLD cohorts of the Phase 1 IMMUNICY-1 trial of CYAD-211 for r/r MM are expected during second half of 2022.

CYAD-101 – Allogeneic TIM-based NKG2D CAR T for mCRC

CYAD-101 is an investigational, non-gene edited, allogeneic CAR T candidate engineered to co-expresses the TIM peptide alongside a CAR based on NKG2D, a receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) and T cells, that binds to eight stress-induced ligands.

In June 2022 we submitted our complete response to the clinical hold of the CYAD-101-002 phase 1b trial to the FDA stating our intent to amend the eligibility criteria to exclude patients who have bilateral lung metastases and patients who have received treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeting monoclonal antibodies within the previous 9 months prior to trial recruitment. In July 2022, based on that complete response, we received notification that the FDA lifted the clinical hold on the CYAD-101-002 phase 1b trial

shARC Platform

Discovery research continues on programs focused on the co-expression of Interleukin-18 in conjunction with our short hairpin RNA shRNA technology platform, also known as our shARC (shRNA Armored CAR) franchise, with a focus on the development of next-generation, allogeneic CAR T candidates.

CYAD-02 – Autologous NKG2D CAR-T for r/r AML and MDS

CYAD-02 is an investigational, autologous CAR T therapy that co-expresses both the NKG2D CAR and a single shRNA targeting the NKG2D ligands MICA/MICB on the CAR T cells.

In December 2021, the Company presented clinical results from the dose-escalation CYCLE-1 Phase 1 trial evaluating CYAD-02 for the treatment of r/r acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Data from the trial showed that a single shRNA can target two independent genes (MICA/MICB) to enhance the phenotype of the CAR T cells. In addition, the dual knockdown showed a positive contribution to the initial clinical activity of CYAD-02 as well as a trend towards increased engraftment and persistence compared to the first-generation, autologous NKG2D receptor CAR T.

The Company continues to explore potential partnership opportunities for the future development of CYAD-02.

Strategic Focus on Intellectual Property

The Company maintains a robust intellectual property portfolio within the landscape of CAR T, including twelve foundational U.S.

patents associated with allogeneic CAR T for the treatment of cancer as well as patents for NKG2D receptor-based cell therapies. We believe these patents provide an avenue for the Company to develop its own programs as well as to seek potential partnership opportunities.

Contact:

BELGIUM

Axis Business Park

Rue Edouard Belin 2

1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert

T: +32(0) 10 39 41 00

F: +32(0) 10 39 41 41

E: info@celyad.com

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