Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. announced the publication of a preclinical study demonstrating delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) is a promising tumor target for AlloCAR T™ in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). SCLC is an aggressive disease with limited treatment options.

Approximately 30,000 patients in the United States are affected each year with this disease which has a 5-year overall survival rate of approximately 7%. DLL3, with high expression on tumors and limited expression in normal tissue, is a promising target for SCLC and potentially other solid tumors. This study describes the selection of ALLO-213 as an allogeneic CAR T development candidate targeting DLL3 from a large number of single chain variable fragment (scFv)-based anti-DLL3 CAR candidates.

The selection of ALLO-213 was based on potency and specificity against SCLC cell lines in vitro and in vivo, including cell lines with very low antigen density to establish sensitivity. The results from the pre-clinical study showed: No DLL3 on target toxicity was observed in preclinical models supporting a potentially attractive safety profile Clinical DLL3 CAR candidates controlled DLL3+ tumor growth in mice without normal tissue toxicity.