ACTR-BCMA

ACTR-BCMA is an experimental autologous cell therapy candidate developed through a collaboration between Cogent Biosciences (formerly Unum Therapeutics) and Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics). The therapy utilizes the Antibody-Coupled T-cell Receptor (ACTR) platform, which involves engineering a patient's T-cells to express a universal chimeric receptor. This receptor consists of the extracellular domain of the CD16 (FcγRIIIa) receptor fused to intracellular T-cell signaling domains, such as CD3-zeta and 4-1BB. Unlike traditional CAR-T therapies that use a fixed single-chain variable fragment (scFv), ACTR T-cells are designed to bind the Fc region of a co-administered monoclonal antibody. In the ACTR-BCMA program, these engineered T-cells were paired with a BCMA-targeting antibody to treat multiple myeloma, directing the T-cells' cytotoxic activity against BCMA-expressing malignant plasma cells. The development of ACTR-BCMA was terminated in 2020 following the dissolution of the partnership between the two companies.

Other names

Unum-Seagen BCMA program