UCL CAR T-cell programme
The UCL CAR T-cell programme is centred at the UCL Cancer Institute where researchers focus on developing CAR T-cell therapies for adult cancers.
Key researchers
The CAR T-cell programme also includes researchers working in paediatric oncology at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH).
Clinical grade cell manufacture
A crucial part of the CAR T-cell programme is clinical grade CAR T-cell manufacture. Dr Owen Bain, Director, and Qualified Person at Cell Gene and Tissue Therapeutics the GMP facility at the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust is director of the main GMP facility at UCL. Working with Dr Claire Roddie, CAR T-cell products are manufactured at this facility for academic clinical studies. Some CAR T-cell products made in collaboration with Autolus are manufactured at the UK Cell Therapy Catapult facility in Stevenage.
Vector Manufacture
Vector production for the CAR T-cell programme is provided through the most important collaboration of the programme outside UCL with Prof. Farzin Farzaneh at KCL.
Cell and Vector Manufacturing
Based at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, we translate novel gene engineered and genome edited cellular therapies. The team excels in process development and GMP manufacturing for Phase I studies
Regulatory / Clinical affairs
The Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre (UCL CTC) develops and conducts clinical studies. The UCL CTC has a unit specialized in delivery of ATIMP clinical studies headed by Dr Kim Champion.
Research and development links with industry
The CAR T-cell field is becoming increasingly commercialized, with considerable contributions to the field being made by industry.
The UCL CAR T-cell programme has a track record of collaborating with industry. In 2013, an industrial collaboration between Dr Martin Pule and Prof. Karl Peggs with the genome-editing company Cellectis led to the development of the first allogeneic 'off-the-shelf' CAR T-cell approach. This led to licensing of technology to Cellectis and the first gene-editing CAR T-cell to be tested in human subjects.
More recently, the UCL CAR T-cell programme has spun-out a company called Autolus Ltd, which has licensed several technologies from UCL and also collaborates extensively with the programme.
UCL spinout Autolus gains UK licence for cancer therapy
Autolus Therapeutics, a UCL spinout company, has received authorisation from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for a next-generation CAR T-cell therapy.
Key publications and presentations
- Roddie C, Dias J ... Pule MA, Peggs KS (2021). Durable Responses and Low Toxicity After Fast Off-Rate CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Therapy in Adults With Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2021 Oct 20;39(30):3352-3363.
- Wawrzyniecka PA, Ibrahim L, Gritti G, Pule MA, Maciocia PM (2022). Chimeric antigen receptor T cells for gamma-delta T cell malignancies. Leukemia. 2022 Feb;36(2):577-579.
- Biasco L, Izotova N, Rivat C, Ghorashian S ... Pule M, Thrasher AJ, Amrolia PJ (2021). Clonal expansion of T memory stem cells determines early anti-leukemic responses and long-term CAR T cell persistence in patients. Nat Cancer. 2021 Jun;2(6): 629-642.
- Agliardi G, Liuzzi AR ... Pule MA, Tugues S, Straathof K, Becher B (2021). Intratumoral IL-12 delivery empowers CAR-T cell immunotherapy in a pre-clinical model of glioblastoma. Nat Commun. 2021 Jan 19;12(1): 444.
- Straathof K, Flutter B, Wallace R ... Pule M, Anderson J (2020). Antitumor activity without on-target off-tumor toxicity of GD2-chimeric antigen receptor T cells in patients with neuroblastoma. Sci Transl Med. 2020 Nov 25;12(571): eabd6169.
- Ghorashian S, Kramer AM ... Pule MA, Amrolia PJ (2019). Enhanced CAR T cell expansion and prolonged persistence in pediatric patients with ALL treated with a low-affinity CD19 CAR. Nat Med. 2019 Sep;25(9): 1408-1414.
- Stavrou M, Philip B, Traynor-White C, Davis CG, Onuoha S, Cordoba S, Thomas S, Pule M (2018). A Rapamycin-Activated Caspase 9-Based Suicide Gene. Mol Ther. 2018 May 2;26(5): 1266-1276.
- Lee L, Draper B, Chaplin N ... Yong K, Pule M (2018). An APRIL-based chimeric antigen receptor for dual targeting of BCMA and TACI in multiple myeloma. Blood. 2018 Feb 15;131(7): 746-758.
- Maciocia PM, Wawrzyniecka PA, Philip B ... Peggs KS, Linch DC, Marafioti T, Pule MA (2017). Targeting the T cell receptor β-chain constant region for immunotherapy of T cell malignancies. Nat Med. 2017 Dec;23(12): 1416-1423.
- Qasim W, Zhan H, Samarasinghe S ... Peggs KS, Chan L, Farzeneh F, Thrasher AJ, Vora A, Pule M, Veys P (2017). Molecular remission of infant B-ALL after infusion of universal TALEN gene-edited CAR T cells. Sci Transl Med. 2017 Jan 25;9(374): eaaj2013.
- Mock U, Nickolay L, Philip B ... Peggs K, Pule M, Thrasher AJ, Qasim W (2016). Automated manufacturing of chimeric antigen receptor T cells for adoptive immunotherapy using CliniMACS prodigy. Cytotherapy. 2016 Aug;18(8): 1002-1011.
- Poirot L, Philip B, Schiffer-Mannioui C ... Peggs K, Pule M, Scharenberg AM, Smith J (2015). Multiplex Genome-Edited T-cell Manufacturing Platform for "Off-the-Shelf" Adoptive T-cell Immunotherapies. Cancer Res. 2015 Sep 15;75(18): 3853-64.
- Philip B, Kokalaki E, Mekkaoui L, Thomas S, Straathof K ... Peggs KS, Pule M. A highly compact epitope-based marker/suicide gene for easier and safer T-cell therapy. Blood. 2014 Aug 21;124(8): 1277-87.
- Rossig C, Pule M, Altvater B, Saiagh S, Wright G, Ghorashian S, et al (2017). Vaccination to improve the persistence of CD19CAR gene-modified T cells in relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia. 2017 May;31(5): 1087-1095.
- Menger L, Sledzinska A, Bergerhoff K, Vargas FA ... Pule M, Hererro J, Peggs KS, Quezada SA (2016). TALEN-Mediated Inactivation of PD-1 in Tumor-Reactive Lymphocytes Promotes Intratumoral T-cell Persistence and Rejection of Established Tumors. Cancer Res. 2016 Apr 15;76(8): 2087-93. Erratum in: Cancer Res. 2016 Oct 15;76(20): 6130; Cancer Res. 2017 Jun 15;77(12): 3379.
