Production and Application of CAR T Cells: Current and Future Role of Europe

Rapid developments in the field of CAR T cells offer important new opportunities while at the same time increasing numbers of patients pose major challenges. This review is summarizing on the one hand the state of the art in CAR T cell trials with a unique perspective on the role that Europe is playing. On the other hand, an overview of reproducible processing techniques is presented, from manual or semi-automated up to fully automated manufacturing of clinical-grade CAR T cells. Besides regulatory requirements, an outlook is given in the direction of digitally controlled automated manufacturing in order to lower cost and complexity and to address CAR T cell products for a greater number of patients and a variety of malignant diseases

Characterization and outcome of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders within a collaborative study

BackgroundPost-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are heterogeneous lymphoid disorders ranging from indolent polyclonal proliferations to aggressive lymphomas that can arise after solid organ transplantation (SOT) and allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation (allo-HSCT).MethodsIn this multi-center retrospective study, we compare patient characteristics, therapies, and outcomes of PTLD after allo-HSCT and SOT. Twenty-five patients (15 after allo-HSCT and 10 after SOT) were identified who developed PTLD between 2008 and 2022.ResultsMedian age (57 years; range, 29-74 years) and baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups (allo-HSCT vs SOT), but median onset of PTLD was markedly shorter after allo-HSCT (2 months vs. 99 months, P<0.001). Treatment regimens were heterogeneous, with reduction of immunosuppression in combination with rituximab being the most common first-line treatment strategy in both cohorts (allo-HSCT: 66%; SOT: 80%). The overall response rate was lower in the allo-HSCT (67%) as compared to the SOT group (100%). Consequently, the overall survival (OS) trended towards a worse outcome for the allo-HSCT group (1-year OS: 54% vs. 78%; P=0.58). We identified PTLD onset ≤150 days in the allo-HSCT (P=0.046) and ECOG >2 in the SOT group (P=0.03) as prognostic factors for lower OS.ConclusionPTLD cases present heterogeneously and pose unique challenges after both types of allogeneic transplantation

Production and Application of CAR T Cells: Current and Future Role of Europe

Rapid developments in the field of CAR T cells offer important new opportunities while at the same time increasing numbers of patients pose major challenges. This review is summarizing on the one hand the state of the art in CAR T cell trials with a unique perspective on the role that Europe is playing. On the other hand, an overview of reproducible processing techniques is presented, from manual or semi-automated up to fully automated manufacturing of clinical-grade CAR T cells. Besides regulatory requirements, an outlook is given in the direction of digitally controlled automated manufacturing in order to lower cost and complexity and to address CAR T cell products for a greater number of patients and a variety of malignant diseases

Production and Application of CAR T Cells: Current and Future Role of Europe

Rapid developments in the field of CAR T cells offer important new opportunities while at the same time increasing numbers of patients pose major challenges. This review is summarizing on the one hand the state of the art in CAR T cell trials with a unique perspective on the role that Europe is playing. On the other hand, an overview of reproducible processing techniques is presented, from manual or semi-automated up to fully automated manufacturing of clinical-grade CAR T cells. Besides regulatory requirements, an outlook is given in the direction of digitally controlled automated manufacturing in order to lower cost and complexity and to address CAR T cell products for a greater number of patients and a variety of malignant diseases