BCMA-Specific CAR T-Cells Combined With a Gamma Secretase Inhibitor (JSMD194) to Treat Relapsed or Persistent Multiple Myeloma

A Phase I Study of B-Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA)-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells in Combination With JSMD194, a Small Molecule Inhibitor of Gamma Secretase, in Patients With Relapsed or Persistent Multiple Myeloma

This phase I trial determines the side effects and best dose of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells when combined with gamma-secretase inhibitor LY3039478 (JSMD194), cyclophosphamide, and fludarabine in treating participants with multiple myeloma that that has come back or remains despite treatment. Placing genes added in the laboratory into immune T-cells may make the T-cells recognize BCMA, a protein on the surface of cancer cells. JSMD194 may enhance the killing of cancer cells by increasing the BCMA expression on multiple myeloma cells, making the targeted BCMA CAR-T treatment more effective. JSMD194 also decreases the amount of BCMA found in the circulation (called soluble BCMA) that is not bound to the myeloma cells. JSMD194 can therefore reduce the potential for soluble BCMA to act as a decoy. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving BCMA CAR T therapy with JSMD194, cyclophosphamide, and fludarabine may work better in treating participants with relapsed or persistent multiple myeloma.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Refractory Plasma Cell Myeloma; Recurrent Plasma Cell Myeloma
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Pharmacokinetic Study; Drug: Cyclophosphamide; Drug: Fludarabine; Biological: BCMA-specific CAR-expressing T Lymphocytes; Drug: Gamma-Secretase Inhibitor LY3039478

Detailed Description

OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation study of BCMA-specific CAR T-cells.

Participants receive fludarabine and cyclophosphamide on days -4 to -2. Participants then receive BCMA-specific CAR T-cells intravenously (IV) over 20-30 minutes on day 0 and gamma-secretase inhibitor LY3039478 orally (PO) on days 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18. Patients will also receive JSMD194 orally before the fludarabine and cyclophosphamide to evaluate the effect of this drug alone on multiple myeloma cell BCMA levels.

After completion of study treatment, participants are followed up every 6 months for years 1-5 and annually for years 6-15.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109
      • Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score =< 2

• Have measurable disease by International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria based on one or more of the following findings:

  • Serum monoclonal immunoglobulin (M-protein) >= 1 g/dL
  • Urine M-protein >= 200 mg/24 hour
  • Involved serum free light chain (sFLC) level >= 10 mg/dL with abnormal kappa/lambda ratio
  • Measurable biopsy-proven plasmacytomas (>= 1 lesion that has a single diameter >= 2 cm)
  • Bone marrow plasma cells >= 30%
• Have a diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM); the MM diagnosis must be confirmed by internal pathology review of a fresh biopsy specimen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (FHCRC/SCCA)

• Have relapsed or treatment refractory disease with >= 10% CD138+ malignant plasma cells immunohistochemistry (IHC) on BM core biopsy, either:

  • Following autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT)

  • Or, if a patient has not yet undergone ASCT, the individual must:

    • Be transplant ineligible, due to age, comorbidity, patient choice, insurance reasons, concerns of rapidly progressive disease, and/or discretion of attending physician and principal investigator and,
    • Demonstrate disease that persists after > 4 cycles of induction therapy and that is double refractory (persistence/progression) after therapy with both a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) administered either in tandem, or in sequence, or demonstrate intolerance to both classes of agents (IMiD and PI); > 4 cycles of therapy are not required for patients with a diagnosis of plasma cell leukemia
• Male and female patients of reproductive potential must be willing to use an effect contraceptive method before, during, and for at least 4 months after the BCMA CAR T cell infusion

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of another primary malignancy that requires intervention beyond surveillance or that has not been in remission for at least 1 year (the following are exempt from the 1-year limit: non-melanoma skin cancer, curatively treated localized prostate cancer, curatively treated superficial bladder cancer and cervical carcinoma in situ on biopsy or a squamous intraepithelial lesion on PAP smear)
• Active hepatitis B, hepatitis C at the time of screening
• Patients who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive
• Subjects with uncontrolled active infection
• > 1 hospital admission for infection in prior 6 months
• Presence of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) unless limited to skin involvement and managed with topical steroid therapy alone
• History of any one of the following cardiovascular conditions within the past 6 months: class III or IV heart failure as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA), cardiac angioplasty or stenting, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or other clinically significant cardiac disease as determined by the principal investigator (PI) or designee
• History of clinically relevant central nervous system (CNS) pathology such as epilepsy, seizure, paresis, aphasia, stroke, severe brain injuries, dementia, Parkinson's disease, cerebellar disease, organic brain syndrome, or psychosis, active central nervous system MM involvement and/or carcinomatous meningitis; subjects with previously treated central nervous systems involvement may participate, provided they are free of disease in the CNS (documented by flow cytometry performed on the cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] within 14 days of enrollment) and have no evidence of new sites of CNS activity
• Pregnant or breastfeeding females
• Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or donor lymphocyte infusion within 90 days of leukapheresis

• Use of any of the following:

  • Therapeutic doses of corticosteroids (defined as > 20 mg/day prednisone or equivalent) within 7 days prior to leukapheresis; physiologic replacement, topical, and inhaled steroids are permitted
  • Cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents within 1 week of leukapheresis; oral chemotherapeutic agents are allowed if at least 3 half-lives have elapsed prior to leukapheresis
  • Lymphotoxic chemotherapeutic agents within 2 weeks of leukapheresis
  • Experimental agents within 4 weeks of leukapheresis unless progression is documented on therapy and at least 3 half-lives have elapsed prior to leukapheresis
  • Daratumumab (or other anti-CD38 therapy) within 30 days of leukapheresis
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) < 1000/mm^3, per PI discretion if cytopenia thought to be related to underlying myeloma
• Hemoglobin (Hgb) < 8 mg/dl, per PI discretion if cytopenia thought to be related to underlying myeloma
• Platelet count < 50,000/mm^3, per PI discretion if cytopenia thought to be related to underlying myeloma
• Active autoimmune disease requiring immunosuppressive therapy
• Creatinine clearance < 20 ml/min
• Significant hepatic dysfunction (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT] > 5 x upper limit of normal; bilirubin > 3.0 mg/dL)
• Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of < 50% predicted or carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) (corrected) < 40% (patients with clinically significant pulmonary dysfunction, as determined by medical history and physical exam should undergo pulmonary function testing)
• Anticipated survival of < 3 months
• Contraindication to cyclophosphamide or fludarabine chemotherapy
• Patients with known amyloidosis (AL) subtype amyloidosis
• Uncontrolled medical, psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical conditions that do not permit compliance with the protocol, as judged by the investigator; or unwillingness or inability to follow the procedures required in the protocol
• Documented malabsorptive syndromes including enteropathies, gastroenteritis (acute or chronic) or diarrhea (acute or chronic)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Treatment (Chemotherapy, BCMA-specific CAR T-cells, LY3039478); Participants receive fludarabine and cyclophosphamide on days -4 to -2. Participants then receive BCMA-specific CAR T-cells IV over 20-30 minutes on day 0 and LY3039478 PO on days 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18.

Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Other: Pharmacokinetic Study; Correlative studies; Other Names: PHARMACOKINETIC; PK Study; Drug: Cyclophosphamide; Given IV; Other Names: Cytoxan; CTX; (-)-Cyclophosphamide; 2H-1,3,2-Oxazaphosphorine, 2-[bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]tetrahydro-, 2-oxide, monohydrate; Carloxan; Ciclofosfamida; Ciclofosfamide; Cicloxal; Clafen; Claphene; CP monohydrate; CYCLO-cell; Cycloblastin; Cycloblastine; Cyclophospham; Cyclophosphamid monohydrate; Cyclophosphamidum; Cyclophosphan; Cyclophosphane; Cyclophosphanum; Cyclostin; Cyclostine; Cytophosphan; Cytophosphane; Fosfaseron; Genoxal; Genuxal; Ledoxina; Mitoxan; Neosar; Revimmune; Syklofosfamid; WR- 138719; Drug: Fludarabine; Given IV; Other Names: Fluradosa; Biological: BCMA-specific CAR-expressing T Lymphocytes; Receive CAR T infusion; Other Names: Anti-BCMA CAR T Cells; Anti-BCMA-CAR-transduced T Cells; Drug: Gamma-Secretase Inhibitor LY3039478; Given PO; Other Names: LY 3039478; LY-3039478; LY3039478; JSMD194

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells	This is defined as the dose associated with a true dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) rate of 25% in each of the cohorts. DLTs are events that occur within the first 28 days following CAR T-cell infusion.	Up to 28 days following CAR T-cell infusion
Incidence of general toxicities	This will be measured according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0.	Up to 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Progression-free survival	Up to 1 year
Overall survival	Up to 1 year
Objective response rate of complete remission and partial remission	Up to 1 year
Duration of persistence of adoptively transferred B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) CAR T cells	Up to 1 year
Evaluation of the migration of adoptively transferred BCMA CAR T cells	Up to 1 year

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Plasma cell BCMA expression and soluble (s)BCMA levels with LY3039478 administration	Up to 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Andrew Cowan, Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Pont MJ, Hill T, Cole GO, Abbott JJ, Kelliher J, Salter AI, Hudecek M, Comstock ML, Rajan A, Patel BKR, Voutsinas JM, Wu Q, Liu L, Cowan AJ, Wood BL, Green DJ, Riddell SR. gamma-Secretase inhibition increases efficacy of BCMA-specific chimeric antigen receptor T cells in multiple myeloma. Blood. 2019 Nov 7;134(19):1585-1597. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019000050.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 23, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 20, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): April 20, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 11, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 11, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): April 18, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 4, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Hematologic Diseases; Hemorrhagic Disorders; Hemostatic Disorders; Paraproteinemias; Blood Protein Disorders; Multiple Myeloma; Neoplasms, Plasma Cell; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antirheumatic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Immunosuppressive Agents; Immunologic Factors; Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; Alkylating Agents; Myeloablative Agonists; Cyclophosphamide; Fludarabine; Gamma Secretase Inhibitors and Modulators
• Other Study ID Numbers: 9952 (Other Identifier: CTEP); NCI-2018-00514 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); RG9218033 (Other Identifier: Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No