BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cells with PD-1 disruption

BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cells with PD-1 disruption is an allogeneic, "off-the-shelf" cellular immunotherapy being developed for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The therapy utilizes invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which naturally combine T-cell and NK-cell features and do not induce graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). These cells are engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and incorporate a proprietary PD-1 intracellular retention technology. This non-gene editing technique prevents the membrane expression of PD-1, thereby mitigating T-cell exhaustion and enhancing the long-term cytotoxicity and antitumor potency of the cells within the tumor microenvironment. Preclinical data presented at EHA 2026 demonstrated that these modified iNKT cells exhibit superior tumor control and bone marrow homing compared to standard CAR-iNKT designs.

Other names

PD-1-deleted BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cellsPD1-deleted BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cellsPD 1-deleted BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cellsallogeneic BCMA-targeted CAR-iNKT cells with PD-1 disruption