June 2 (Reuters) – Legend Biotech’s experimental therapy showed early signs that its approach of generating disease-fighting cells within patients may work for a type of blood cancer, sending shares of the company up nearly 30%.
Unlike traditional CAR‑T therapies that require extracting, modifying and reinfusing a patient’s immune cells, Legend aims to generate them inside the body using its in vivo dual-targeting therapy, LB2501.
In the highly anticipated early-stage trial data reported on Tuesday, 12 patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma were treated across two dose levels as of April 1.
In the higher-dose cohort, the preliminary data showed all six patients responded, while five had a complete response.
The data points “to a potentially best-in-class profile in the in vivo CAR-T space and best-in-disease profile in NHL,” Oppenheimer analyst Kostas Biliouris said, adding that it strengthened chances of Legend’s acquisition.
Several pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have recently struck deals in the in vivo CAR-T field.
LB2501 is designed to generate CAR-T cells directly within the patient through a single, direct infusion, eliminating the need for ex vivo cell engineering and manufacturing.
“By generating CAR-T cells directly within the patient, this approach has the potential to simplify treatment delivery and expand access for patients who may not be able to receive traditional CAR-T cell therapies,” said CEO Ying Huang.
While a longer follow-up was warranted, the data highlights the potential of LB2501 as a scalable, readily accessible “off-the-shelf” immunotherapy for B-cell malignancies, Legend said.
It did not provide additional dose-level details and said further data would be shared at a medical meeting later this month.
The company said no dose-limiting toxicities, serious adverse events or fatal cases were reported. Infusion-related reactions occurred in nine patients, but were resolved within a two-day median, it said.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
