Genetic Ablation of CD33 in HSC to Broaden the Therapeutic Index of CD33-directed Immunotherapy in Patients with AML (GALAXY33)

Genetic Ablation of CD33 in Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Broaden the Therapeutic Index of CD33-directed Immunotherapy in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

The study "GALAXY33" is an open-label, prospective, nonrandomized, one arm phase I clinical trial in which patients with relapsed AML after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation will be transplanted with CD33-deleted CD34+ HSC derived from the initially matched family donor.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: Donor-derived CD34+ HSC with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated CD33 deletion; Drug: Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin

Detailed Description

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated inactivation of CD33 in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) may broaden the therapeutic index of CD33-directed immunotherapy for patients with AML by rendering healthy hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) resistant to escalating doses and/or shorter dosing intervals of the CD33-specific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Gemtuzumab-ozogamicin (GO).

In this proof of concept trial, we will develop a platform for genome editing of CD34+ HSC and demonstrate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of this approach for targeted therapy of AML.

Upon implementation, the platform shall be used for innovative clinical trials in diverse types of cancer. Outside of leukemias, autologous HSC could be used to ease the procedure.

Patients with relapsed AML after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation will be transplanted with CD33-deleted CD34+ HSC derived from the initially matched family donor.

Upon HSC engraftment, patients will be treated with escalating doses of the anti-CD33 antibodydrug conjugate Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin (GO). A conditioning regimen containing GO (d-14, d-11, d-8),Fludarabine 30 mg/m2 (d-6 to d-3) and Melphalan 140mg/m2 (d-2) is used prior to transplantation.

The clinical trial will be conducted at two trial sites in the University Hospitals in Heidelberg and Dresden.

25 patients will be assessed for eligibility and 12 patients will be allocated into the trial.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 12
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tim Sauer, Dr. med.; Phone Number: +49 6221 56 38010; Email: tim.sauer@med.uni-heidelberg.de
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Carsten Müller-Tidow, Prof. Dr. med.; Email: carsten.mueller-tidow@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Dresden, Germany, 01307
    • University Hospital Dresden, Department of Medicine I
    • Contact: Martin Bornhäuser, Prof. Dr. med.
  • Heidelberg, Germany, 69120
    • University Hospital Heidelberg, Internal Medicine V
    • Contact: Tim Sauer, Dr. med.

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Key Inclusion Criteria:

• confirmed AML according to the WHO classification
• relapsed disease after allo-SCT from an HLA-identical family donor (≥ 2 months after allo-SCT at time of inclusion)
• ≤ 29% of bone marrow blasts as detected by cytomorphology or immunohistochemistry
• age ≥ 18 years
• confirmed CD33 expression on leukemic blasts at current relapse (as detected by flow cytometry)

• adequate organ function:

  • Renal function defined as: serum creatinine of ≤ 2x ULN or eGFR ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m2

  • Liver function defined as:

    • ALT ≤ 3 times the ULN for the respective age
    • Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dl with the exception of patients with hyperbilirubinemia explained by Gilbert-Meulengracht syndrome (may be included if total bilirubin is ≤ 3.0 x ULN and direct bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN) or extrahepatic disease (e.g. chronic hemolytic anemia)
• Minimum level of pulmonary reserve defined as ≤ grade 1 dyspnea and pulse oxygenation > 90% on room air
• Hemodynamic stability and LVEF ≥ 40% as confirmed by echocardiogram
• Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) ≥ 100/mm3

Key Exclusion Criteria:

• ECOG performance status >2
• Confirmed CNS involvement
• Acute or chronic Graft versus Host disease (GvHD)
• Availability of other curative standard treatment options
• Prior treatment with GO
• Prior hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) or sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS)
• Uncontrolled active hepatitis B or C
• HIV-positivity
• Uncontrolled bacterial, viral or fungal infection
• Participation in another clinical trial at the time of screening
• Organ dysfunction (liver, kidney, lung, heart) that is a contraindication for conditioning therapy
• Severe concomitant disease (e.g. uncontrolled arterial hypertension, heart failure NYHA III-IV, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, uncontrolled hyperlipidemia)
• Unstable angina and/or myocardial infarction within 3 months prior to screening
• Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women

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: Donor-derived CD33-deleted CD34+ HSC combined with Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin (GO); Patients will be transplanted with CD33-deleted CD34+ HSC derived from the initially matched family donor. Upon HSC engraftment, patients will be treated with escalating doses of the anti-CD33 antibodydrugconjugate Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin (GO). A conditioning regimen containing GO (d-14, d-11, d-8), Fludarabine 30 mg/m2 (d-6 to d-3) and Melphalan 140mg/m2 (d-2) is used prior to transplantation.

Biological: Donor-derived CD34+ HSC with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated CD33 deletion; CD33-deleted CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells derived from the initially matched family donor; Drug: Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin; Intrapatient intra-individual dose escalation Level 0: GO day 1 Level 1: GO day 1, day 4 Level 2: GO day 1, day 4, day 7 with repetition after 21 to 28 days up to 84 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
engraftement of gene edited CD34+HSC	successful engraftement of gene edited CD34+HSC in the bone marrow	on day 28
dose-limiting toxicity	dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin	until EOS (day 90)
toxicities according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v5.0)	frequency and grade of AEs with gene-edited HSC transplantation	until EOS (day 90)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Anti-tumor efficacy of study treatment in patients with dCD33+ relapsed AML after allo-SCT	overall response rate (ORR), complete response (CR), partial response (PR)) at day 90 (EOS) after last GO application)	until EOS (day 90)
Time to response	Time to response (at least partial response) after the last GO application	until EOS (day 90)
Overall response	Duration of overall response (DOR) after the last GO application	until EOS (day 90)
Progression-free survival	Progression-free survival (PFS) after the last GO application	until EOS (day 90)
Overall survival	Overall survival (OS) after the last GO application	until EOS (day 90)
Number of circulating gene edited cells	Number of circulating gene edited cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood as determined by flow cytometry	at screening and days 14, 28, 56, 90

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: German Cancer Research Center
• Collaborators: University Hospital Heidelberg; University Hospital Dresden
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tim Sauer, Dr. med., University Hospital Heidelberg

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2028
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 6, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 20, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: AML; allogeneic stem cell transplantation; gene editing; chemotherapy resistance
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Hematologic Diseases; Leukemia; Leukemia, Myeloid; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Antineoplastic Agents; Immunologic Factors; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Immunoconjugates; Immunotoxins; Gemtuzumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022-002

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: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No