$AVCO News! FREEHOLD, N.J., Sept. 19, 2019 (GL
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FREEHOLD, N.J., Sept. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avalon GloboCare Corp. (NASDAQ: AVCO), a leading global developer of cell-based technologies and therapeutics, today announced it has initiated its first-in-human, Phase I clinical trial of CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T candidate, AVA-001, at the Hebei Yanda Lu Daopei Hospital and Beijing Lu Daopei Hospital in China.
The clinical trial will interrogate the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies, including B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL). CAR-T cells are engineered to express a receptor (CAR) that recognizes a specific cancer surface target to attack. Unlike traditional small molecule or biologic treatments, the autologous CAR-T therapies are specifically manufactured for each individual patient. AVA-001 was designed to provide a more powerful, personalized CAR delivery mechanism.
Co-developed with China Immunotech Co. Ltd., AVA-001 is considered to be a second-generation CAR-T using the 4-1BB (CD137), a co-stimulatory signaling pathway, which exhibited strong anti-cancer activity during the pre-clinical study. It is also expected to feature a shorter bio-manufacturing time.
The production process starts with the extraction of T cells from an individual patient, which are then converted into CAR-T cells that are specifically targeted to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The Company anticipates AVA-001 will entail a shortened bio-production cycle, which could potentially empower the clinicians to provide accelerated treatment to patients with hematologic malignancies. Avalon is expected to recruit 20 patients for clinical safety and efficacy monitoring and assessment (under registered clinical trial number NCT03952923 and hospital study ID number LDP-C-001).
“We have successfully evolved into an active clinical-stage company with a primary focus on immune effector cell therapy in the oncology domain. As our first-in-human clinical trial, the study of AVA-001 marks a significant milestone for Avalon. We are committed to delivering precise clinical execution and leadership in cell-based therapeutics with a strong pipeline of additional cellular immunotherapy candidates,” stated David Jin, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Avalon.