Eureka Therapeutics Announces New England Journal of Medicine Publication of Clinical Study Demonstrating GPRC5D as an Active Target for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell therapies to treat cancer, today announced the publication of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “GPRC5D-Targeted CAR T Cells for Myeloma.” The study was led by Dr. Eric Smith of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Renier Brentjens of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Sham Mailankody of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

The GPRC5D binder used in the study was developed by Eureka using its proprietary E-ALPHA® platform in collaboration with MSK. Eureka and MSK licensed the binder to Juno Therapeutics/Bristol Myers Squib in 2016 for CAR use, and to Sanofi in 2021 for non-CAR use.

While B cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have generated responses in patients with multiple myeloma, relapses associated with low-to-negative expression of BCMA are common. Preclinical studies have shown the efficacy of G protein-coupled receptor, class C, group 5, member D (GPRC5D)-targeted CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma, including in BCMA antigen escape models (Smith EL et al. Science Trans Med 2019).

In this study, 17 patients were enrolled and received GPRC5D CAR T-cell therapy (MCARH109), including patients who had previously received BCMA therapies. At the highest dose level (450 million CAR T cells), 1 patient had grade 4 cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity and 2 patients had delayed cerebellar-like toxicities; there were no treatment associated deaths. The maximum tolerated dose was identified at 150 million CAR T cells. A response was reported in 71% of the patients in the entire cohort, and in 58% of those who received the lower doses of 25 million to 150 million cells. Patients that previously relapsed after BCMA-targeted CAR T cell therapy responded similarly to those that were CAR naïve.

“The data confirms GPRC5D as an active immunotherapeutic target in multiple myeloma,” said Eric Smith, M.D., Ph.D., and co-inventor of CARs for the targeting of multiple myeloma. “We look forward to advancing this program either as a stand-alone therapy or as a combination therapy with BCMA-targeting CARs.”

“We are thrilled that the positive GPRC5D-directed CD28/4-1BB CAR study results were published in such a prestigious journal,” said Dr. Cheng Liu, President and Chief Executive Officer at Eureka Therapeutics. “The results reaffirm our commitment to developing the next generation of safer and more effective T-cell therapies to treat patients with cancer.”

ABOUT EUREKA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel T cell therapies to treat cancers. Its core technology centers around its proprietary ARTEMIS® cell receptor platform and E-ALPHA® antibody discovery platform for the discovery and development of potentially safer and more effective T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The company currently has two clinical programs, ET140203 (ARYA1 for adults and ARYA2 for pediatrics) and ECT204 (ARYA3), in Phase I/II US trials in patients with advanced liver cancer.

Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information on Eureka, please visit www.eurekatherapeutics.com.