US Patent grants Cellectis to cover CRISPR-Edited Allogeneic CAR T-Cells

New York: Cellectis, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells (UCART), has announced that a new patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had been granted to Cellectis for methods of preparing allogeneic T-cells for immunotherapy with CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

The patent US10,584,352 issued today claims "a method of preparing and administering T-cells for immunotherapy comprised of providing primary human T-cells from a healthy donor and genetically modifying the primary human T-cells to eliminate expression of the T-cell receptor (TCR), which contains expression on the Cas9 endonuclease fused to a nuclear localization signal (NLS) and guide RNA that directs said endonuclease to at least one targeted locus encoding the TCR in the T-cell genome, and further the expansion of the genetically modified T-cells, as well as the administration of at least 10,000 of the expanded genetically modified T-cells to a patient."

This patent complements the European patent EP3004337, claiming a method of preparing T-cells for immunotherapy using the CRISPR-Cas9 system, initially granted on August 2, 2017, and upheld by the EPO in November 2019 following an opposition procedure initiated in May 2018.

In January 2020, Cellectis was also granted European Patent EP3116902, which claims "an engineered isolated CAR T-cell, which expression of beta 2-microglobulin (B2M) is inhibited, while at least one gene encoding a component of the T-cell receptor (TCR) is inactivated."

"These patents highlight Cellectis' long-term expansion of expertise in various gene-editing technologies, including CRISPR-Cas9," said Dr André Choulika, Chairman and CEO, Cellectis. "Cellectis invented the gene-edited CAR-T allogeneic approach, and over the past decade, we have remained committed to developing the safest and efficacious therapeutic products on a global scale."

The Cellectis inventors of US10,584,352 and EP3004337 patents are Dr André Choulika, Chairman and CEO, Dr Philippe Duchateau, Chief Scientific Officer and Dr Laurent Poirot, VP, Immunology Department. Inventors from Cellectis of the EP3116902 patent include Dr Laurent Poirot, VP, Immunology Department, Dr David Sourdive, EVP, Strategic Initiatives, Dr Philippe Duchateau, Chief Scientific Officer and Dr Jean-Pierre Cabaniols, Head of Analytical Department.

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