TCR² Therapeutics Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Gavo-cel for the Treatment of Cholangiocarcinoma


TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. recently announced the US FDA has granted the company Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to gavo-cel for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. New clinical data from the dose escalation portion of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of gavo-cel in patients with treatment refractory mesothelin-expressing solid tumors will be highlighted as part of an oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology on September 17 at 14:20 CEST (8:20AM EST) and will include data for gavo-cel in malignant mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and cholangiocarcinoma.

Mesothelin is a cell-surface glycoprotein highly expressed in a wide range of solid tumors, including malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and others. Overexpression of mesothelin is associated with poorer prognosis in some cancers due to its active role in both malignant transformation and tumor aggressiveness by promoting cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Of the wide range of solid tumors expressing mesothelin, non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, mesothelioma and cholangiocarcinoma represent a patient population up to 80,000 annually in the United States alone.

TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing a pipeline of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer. TCR2’s proprietary T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC-T cells) specifically recognize and kill cancer cells by harnessing signaling from the entire TCR, independent of human leukocyte antigens (HLA). In preclinical studies, TRuC-T cells have demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity compared to chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells), while secreting lower levels of cytokine release. The company’s lead TRuC-T cell product candidate targeting solid tumors, gavo-cel, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with mesothelin-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ovarian cancer, malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma, and cholangiocarcinoma. The company’s lead TRuC-T cell product candidate targeting hematological malignancies, TC-110, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with CD19-positive adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (aALL) and with aggressive or indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). For more information, visit www.tcr2.com.