CF33-CD19

CF33-CD19 is a novel chimeric oncolytic poxvirus (orthopox/vaccinia virus) engineered to encode a truncated, non-signaling human CD19 transgene. The transgene is inserted in place of the viral thymidine kinase gene at the J2R locus, which attenuates viral replication in normal cells and restricts it to tumor cells. Upon infection of tumor cells, CF33-CD19 induces cell surface expression of CD19 prior to virus-mediated lysis. This enables previously "targetless" solid tumors to be recognized and attacked by CD19-targeted immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapies or bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) like blinatumomab. The approach aims to make solid tumors susceptible to therapies that have been highly effective in hematologic malignancies but not applicable due to lack of target antigen expression. Developed by Imugene in collaboration with City of Hope, CF33-CD19 is currently being evaluated for safety and efficacy in adults with advanced or metastatic solid tumors[1][3][5][7]. CF33-CD19 is also referred to as "onCARlytics" and represents a first-in-class strategy for enabling immunotherapy targeting against solid tumors that do not naturally express suitable antigens for CAR-T or BiTE approaches.

Brand names

onCARlytics

Other names

CD19-expressing oncolytic virus CF33CD-19-expressing oncolytic virus CF33CD 19-expressing oncolytic virus CF33