Kyverna Therapeutics to Present New Data of KYV-101 in Lupus at American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy 26th Annual Meeting

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May 17, 2023, 07:45 ET

Preclinical data presented for the first time demonstrated successful manufacture and functional activity of KYV-101 in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly known as lupus

KYV-101 is a novel, fully human CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for use in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases such as lupus nephritis, a serious complication of lupus

EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyverna Therapeutics ("Kyverna"), a cell therapy company with the mission of engineering a new class of therapies for serious autoimmune diseases, today announced it will present for the first time preclinical findings on the development of KYV-101, a novel CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, at the 26th Annual meeting of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.

The study demonstrates the successful manufacture and functional activity of KYV-101 from the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). KYV-101 is a novel therapy for lupus nephritis (LN), a serious complication of SLE, more commonly known as lupus.

"These results are encouraging and demonstrate the promise of KYV-101 as a transformative therapy for patients with LN and other B cell-driven autoimmune diseases," said James Chung, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Kyverna.

Poster details:

Development of KYV-101, a Novel CD19 CAR-T Cell Therapy for the Treatment of B Cell-Driven Autoimmune Diseases
Abstract Number: 636
Session: Wednesday Poster Session
Presenter: Charles Kaplan, Ph.D., Kyverna Therapeutics
Date/Time: Wednesday, May 17, 2023; 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT

About Lupus Nephritis (LN)
Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), more commonly known as lupus. Approximately 40 percent of adults diagnosed with lupus eventually develop LN and 60 percent of LN patients will fail standard of care and approved treatments¹. Aside from modest efficacy, current treatments expose these young adults to the well-demonstrated detrimental consequences of chronic treatment with corticosteroids and other powerful immunosuppressants. Up to 10 percent of patients with LN and 40 percent with diffuse LN (class IV) will ultimately develop kidney failure, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive².

About KYV-101
KYV-101 is an autologous version of a novel, fully human clinical-stage anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) construct with properties well suited for use in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases such as lupus nephritis and other B-cell driven autoimmune diseases. In a 20-patient Phase 1/2 study in oncology, expected anti-lymphoma activity was associated with a significant reduction of cytokines released that translated into a strong reduction of cytokine-driven side effects such as the rate of immune effector cells-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS)³. The fully human anti-CD19 CAR also translated into reduced immunogenicity that favorably impacted cell persistence at one month. Kyverna recognized that these properties singled out KYV-101 as a product ideally poised for use in autoimmune disease patients, and the company obtained exclusive, worldwide licenses from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use this CD19 construct in both autologous and allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies.

About Kyverna Therapeutics
Kyverna Therapeutics is a cell therapy company with the mission of engineering a new class of therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The Kyverna therapeutic platform combines advanced T-cell engineering and synthetic biology technologies to suppress and eliminate the autoreactive immune cells at the origin of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Kyverna's pipeline includes next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies in both autologous and allogeneic formats with properties well suited for use in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases. By offering more than one mechanism for taming autoimmunity, Kyverna is positioned to act on its mission of transforming how autoimmune diseases are treated. For more information, please visit https://kyvernatx.com.

¹E. Carter et al., Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 12, Oct. 2016, 605-620.
²Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2019;26(5):313.
³Brudno et al., Nature Medicine 2020; 26:270-280.

SOURCE Kyverna Therapeutics