Adaptimmune Announces FDA Acceptance of IND Application for Affinity Enhanced T-Cell Therapy Targeting AFP in Liver Cancer

Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in the use of TCR engineered T-cell therapy to treat cancer, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company’s investigational new drug (IND) application for autologous genetically modified T-cells expressing affinity enhanced T-cell receptors (TCRs) specific for alpha fetoprotein (AFP) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, the sixth most common cancer worldwide. The IND is now active.
According to the news:

This will be Adaptimmune’s second wholly-owned therapeutic candidate to enter clinical trials. The company initiated a study in December 2015 to evaluate its unpartnered T-cell therapy targeting the MAGE-A10 cancer antigen in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Rafael Amado, Adaptimmune’s Chief Medical Officer commented:

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common and deadly types of cancer in the world and it represents a  significant unmet medical need, as there is a dearth of effective therapies for advanced disease. We are pleased to initiate clinical evaluation of our AFP T-cell therapeutic candidate in this patient population.

Click here to view the full press release.