Viral Specific T-Lymphocytes to Treat Adenovirus, CMV and EBV

Viral Specific T-Lymphocytes by Cytokine Capture System (CCS) to Treat Infection With Adenovirus, Cytomegalovirus or Epstein-Barr Virus After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation or Solid Organ Transplantation and in Patients With Compromised Immunity

The primary purpose of this phase I/II study is to evaluate whether partially matched, ≥2/6 HLA-matched, viral specific T cells have efficacy against adenovirus, CMV or EBV in subjects who have previously received any type of allogeneic HCT or solid organ transplant (SOT), or have compromised immunity. Reconstitution of anti-viral immunity by donor-derived cytotoxic T lymphocytes has shown promise in preventing and treating infections with DNA viruses. However, the weeks taken to prepare patient-specific products, and cost associated with products that may not be used limits their value. In this trial, we will evaluate viral specific T cells generated by gamma capture technology. Eligible patients will include HCT and/or SOT recipients, and/or patients with compromised immunity who have adenovirus or CMV infection or refractory viremia that is persistent despite standard therapy. Infusion of the cellular product will be assessed for safety and efficacy.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Cytomegalovirus Infections; Adenovirus; Epstein-Barr Virus
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: Adenovirus Specific T- Lymphocytes; Biological: Cytomegalovirus Specific T-Lymphocytes; Biological: EBV Specific T-Lymphocytes

Detailed Description

If a subject shows a partial response, defined as a decrease in viral load of at least 50% from baseline or 50% improvement of clinical signs and symptoms, or no response, they are eligible to receive up to 4 additional cellular infusions from the same donor, at a minimum of 14-day intervals. If the same donor is no longer available, eligible, or appropriate, another donor may be considered for a maximum of 4 total cellular infusions at the discretion of the study PI and treating physician. A subject will not exceed a maximum of 5 total infusions from 2 donors.

Subjects are followed for 1 year post initial viral-specific T cell infusion. If subjects receive additional infusion(s), GvHD and adverse events will be followed for an additional 90 days from last infusion. Data may be abstracted from subjects' medical charts for an additional 1 year after most recent viral-specific T cell infusion.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 8
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224
      • UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 month to 60 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria

1. Patient, parent, or legal guardian must have given written informed consent, according to FDA guidelines. For patients ≥ 7 years of age who are developmentally able, assent or affirmation will be obtained, if feasible.
2. Male or female, 1 month through 65 years old, inclusive, at the time of informed consent.
3. Prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, single or double cord blood), OR prior solid organ transplant (liver, kidney, lung and/or heart, intestinal, or multivisceral), OR diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency OR current/recent administration of immunosuppressive therapy for cancer or autoimmune disease.
4. Clinical status, at time of consent, amendable to tapering of steroids to less than 1 mg/kg/day prednisone (or equivalent) prior to cellular infusion.
5. Negative pregnancy test for females ≥10 years old or who have reached menarche, unless surgically sterilized.
6. Diagnosis of Adenovirus or CMV infection, persistent despite standard therapy.

A. Adenovirus Infection or Disease:

1. Active adenovirus infection: (i.e. gastroenteritis, pneumonia, hemorrhagic cystitis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, meningitis) defined as the demonstration of adenovirus by biopsy specimen from affected site(s) (by culture or histology), or the detection of adenovirus by culture, PCR or direct fluorescent antibody stain in fluid in the presence of worsening or persistent clinical or imaging findings despite at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. cidofovir, brincidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR
2. Refractory adenoviremia: defined as DNAemia >5000 copies/mL or <1 log decrease after at least 2 weeks of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. cidofovir, brincidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR
3. Intolerance of or contraindication to antiviral medications.

B. CMV Infection or Disease:

1. Active CMV infection: (i.e. pneumonia, meningitis, retinitis, hepatitis, hemorrhagic cystitis, and/or gastroenteritis) defined as the demonstration of CMV by biopsy specimen from affected site(s) (by culture or histology) or the detection of CMV by culture, PCR or direct fluorescent antibody stain in fluid in the presence of worsening or persistent clinical or imaging findings despite at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. Foscarnet, ganciclovir, cidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR
2. Refractory CMV viremia: defined as the continued presence of DNAemia, with ≥2,000 IU/mL or <1 log decrease after at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. Foscarnet, ganciclovir, cidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR
3. Intolerance of or contraindication to antiviral medications.

C. EBV Infection or Disease:

1. Biopsy proven lymphoma or posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease with EBV genomes detected in tumor cells by immunocytochemistry (i.e. EBER positive) or in situ PCR, OR
2. Clinical or imaging findings consistent with EBV lymphoma and associated elevated EBV viral load in peripheral blood in a patient where biopsy is deemed too high risk, OR
3. Failure of antiviral therapy, as determined by one of the two bullets below after three weeks of anti-CD20 targeted therapy such as Rituximab.

i. There was an increase or less than 50% response at sites of lymphoma disease or lymphoproliferation. ii. There was a rise or a fall of less than 50% in EBV viral load in peripheral blood of PTLD patients.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Received ATG or Alemtuzumab within 28 days of viral-specific T cell infusion and a lack of evidence of T cell survival, defined by <10 CD3+ T cells/uL (in unique situations, plasmapheresis may be considered).
2. Active acute GVHD grades II-IV.
3. Active severe chronic GVHD.
4. Received donor lymphocyte infusion, with the exception of a fraction of an umbilical cord blood, within 21 days of viral-specific T cell infusion. Subjects receiving a fraction of an umbilical cord blood within 21 days of the viral-specific T cell infusion will not be excluded.
5. Active and uncontrolled relapse of malignancy.
6. Anticipated initiation of new lymphotoxic therapy within 4 weeks of viral-specific T cell infusion.
7. Patients who are pregnant or lactating.
8. Past or current medical problems or findings from physical examination or laboratory testing that are not listed above, which, in the opinion of the investigator, may pose additional risks to participation in the study, may interfere with the participant's ability to comply with study requirements, or that may impact the quality or interpretation of the data obtained from the study.

Donor Inclusion Criteria

1. 12 years of age or older
2. Able to understand and consent/assent to the procedure
3. Required hemoglobin of 11g/dL or greater
4. Partial (2/6 or more) HLA match to the recipient

Donor Exclusion Criteria

1. Donor is pregnant
2. Donor is HIV positive
3. Donor is positive for hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C
4. Uncontrolled infection
5. Deemed to be a high risk donor based on responses to donor risk questionnaire
6. Deemed high risk due to pre-existing medical condition or abnormal lab results

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: Viral Specific T-Lymphocytes; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells will be collected from the donor and loaded onto our Miltenyi Biotec CliniMACS Prodigy® or CliniMACS® Plus where they will be stimulated in vitro with viral-specific antigen(s). The cells are then immunomagnetically labeled with interferon gamma via the cytokine capture system. By this method, viral specific, gamma-secreting T cells, are captured in a closed, sterile system.

Biological: Adenovirus Specific T- Lymphocytes; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells will be collected from the donor and loaded onto our Miltenyi Biotec CliniMACS Prodigy® or CliniMACS® Plus where they will be stimulated in vitro with Adenovirus viral-specific antigen(s). The cells are then immunomagnetically labeled with interferon gamma via the cytokine capture system, captured and infused.; Biological: Cytomegalovirus Specific T-Lymphocytes; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells will be collected from the donor and loaded onto our Miltenyi Biotec CliniMACS Prodigy® or CliniMACS® Plus where they will be stimulated in vitro with Cytomegalovirus viral-specific antigen(s). The cells are then immunomagnetically labeled with interferon gamma via the cytokine capture system, captured and infused.; Biological: EBV Specific T-Lymphocytes; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells will be collected from the donor and loaded onto our Miltenyi Biotec CliniMACS Prodigy® or CliniMACS® Plus where they will be stimulated in vitro with Epstein barr viral-specific antigen(s). The cells are then immunomagnetically labeled with interferon gamma via the cytokine capture system, captured and infused.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Patients With Grade III-IV Acute Graft Versus Host Disease	Cumulative number of patients who develop Grade III-IV acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) attributed to the viral specific T cells.	Day 0 through 90 days after last cellular infusion (last infusion occurred up to 38 days post day 0)
Number of Patients Who Experienced Grade 4/5 Adverse Events After Infusion	Cumulative number of patients with CTCAE Grade 4/5 Adverse events which occurred after infusion	Day 0 through 90 days after last cellular infusion (last infusion occurred up to 38 days post day 0)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Patients Who Reached 6 Month Survival	Cumulative number of patients surviving at 6 months	First cellular infusion to 6 months post first cellular infusion (last infusion occurred up to 38 days post day 0)
Number of Patients Who Achieved One Year Survival	Cumulative number of patients who were treated and surviving one year later	1 year after first infusion
Patients Who Achieved Viral Response (Complete Response) to Treatment	Complete response to the virus is defined as a resolution of viremia or below limit of quantification OR complete resolution of all related clinical signs and symptoms for CMV, non lymphoproliferative EBV, and adenovirus. For lymphoproliferative EBV, complete response is defined as the resolution of related radiographic disease.	1, 3, and 6 months after first infusion
Number of Days to Patient Complete Response to Viral Specific Infusion	Complete response to the virus is defined as a resolution of viremia or below limit of quantification OR complete resolution of all related clinical signs and symptoms for CMV, non lymphoproliferative EBV, and adenovirus. For lymphoproliferative EBV, complete response is defined as the resolution of related radiographic disease.	Baseline through 6 months after last infusion
Number of Days Post-VST Infusion Upon Which Viral Specific Antimicrobial Treatment Was Discontinued.	The number of days after the VST infusion that the antiviral agent used for treatment of the specific virus was stopped.	Day 0 through 6 months after last infusion
Number of Days Post VST Infusion That Patients Achieved T Cell Immune Reconstitution	Immune reconstitution is defined as CD4 lymphocyte count greater than 50/microliter	Baseline through 6 months after last infusion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Jessie L. Alexander, MD
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jessie Alexander, MD, Stanford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 12, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 9, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): November 11, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 23, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): April 27, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 27, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cytomegalovirus; Hematopoietic Cell Transplant; Immunocompromised; Adenovirus; Solid Organ Transplant; Cytokine Capture System; Inborn Error of Immunity
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Virus Diseases; DNA Virus Infections; Herpesviridae Infections; Tumor Virus Infections; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Adenoviridae Infections
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY19040088

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