8:15 am Registration & Coffee Networking
9:15 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Sharing Clinical Data: Improving Outcomes for Lupus Patients
9:20 am Developing CD19 CAR-T for Autoimmune Disease & Early Clinical Insights
Synopsis
- Leveraging pre-existing experience with CAR-T in oncology and HSCT in autoimmune disease for CAR-T in autoimmune disease
- Designing the optimal CD19 CAR-T for autoimmune disease
- Discussing early clinical insights from SLE patients treated with CD19 CAR-T cells
9:50 am Developing Cutting Edge Life-Saving CAR-T Therapies for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Patients
Synopsis
- Developing a compound chimeric antigen receptor (cCAR) targeting both CD19 and BCMA to exert more comprehensive killing and prevent antigen escape
- Sharing clinical data and long-term outcomes, with the first patient being administered over 4 years ago
- Demonstrating well tolerated, long-term remission in a single administration
10:20 am Morning Break & Networking
Improving Outcomes for Patients with Autoimmune Indications Beyond Lupus
11:00 am Pioneering RNA Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases
Synopsis
- Developing the first RNA cell therapy in an autoimmune disease, Descartes-08
- Sharing long-term follow-up data from the phase 1/2a open-label trial in patients with myasthenia gravis
- Discussing the next steps for Descartes-08 in myasthenia gravis and other autoimmune indications
11:30 am Treating Autoimmunity with Tregs
Synopsis
- Developing Treg cell therapies for autoimmune diseases
- Sharing results and lessons from completed clinical trials with Tregs in type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis
- Outlining future challenges in the application of Tregs as medicinal products
12:00 pm Lunch Break & Networking
Planning for the Clinic & Optimizing Clinical Trial Design
1:00 pm Developing a CAR-T for Autoimmune Disease Clinical Program Effectively
Synopsis
- Discussing background and outcomes using CAR-T cells in hematological malignancies
- Developing a multidisciplinary program to administer CAR-T cell therapies for noncancer indications
- Identifying challenges when using CAR-T cells in autoimmune diseases rather than in B-cell malignancies
1:30 pm Treg Cell Therapy in Autoimmunity: Perspective on Target Patient Populations & Clinical Strategy
Synopsis
- Developing "armed" Tregs as a promising therapeutic option to induce immune tolerance
- Understanding considerations for diseases and target patient populations
- Giving an overview of the clinical development strategy
2:00 pm Panel Discussion: Improving Clinical Endpoints & Optimizing Trial Design
Synopsis
- Moving from oncology to autoimmunity, do we need to adapt clinical trial design? Are basket trials the way forward?
- How do we improve communication between hematology, rheumatology, and oncology disciplines?
- What should clinical readouts and endpoints look like for autoimmune disease? How can we implement surrogate endpoints?
2:45 pm Afternoon Break & Networking
Looking to the Future: Beyond T Cells & the Road Towards Commercialization
3:15 pm ADCC Enhancement of Monoclonal Antibodies in Autoimmune Disease with AlloNK®
Synopsis
- Developing a non-engineered, allogeneic NK cell product for autoimmune disease
- Combining with monoclonal antibodies to enhance ADCC against pathogenic B-cells
- Discussing lessons from NHL and application to lupus nephritis
3:45 pm Panel Discussion: Making Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases a Commercial Reality
Synopsis
- What challenges do we expect to encounter on our way towards commercial approval (i.e., regulatory, manufacturing, pricing)?
- With autoimmune diseases having larger patient population than oncology indications, how will we deal with the demand?
- How do we overcome these challenges to ensure we get better cell therapies for patients in need, faster?