Legend stakes its in vivo Car-T claim

Legend Biotech has become the latest player to get involved in in vivo Car-T but, unlike some others, the Chinese group has gone for in-house development versus licensing in. Legend disclosed its in vivo work during a first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, but said it started investing in this platform two years ago. The company isn’t giving many details, including the target(s) it’s pursuing, but said it expects to see the first patient dosed in an investigator-sponsored trial of an in vivo candidate in June or July, with preliminary clinical results towards the end of this year. In vivo Car-T involves delivery of a Car construct to a patient’s own T-cells while they’re inside the body, rather than removing and transfecting them, as with autologous Car-T. Legend is already an autologous player, via the Johnson & Johnson-partnered Carvykti, but the in vivo approach could have benefits including lower cost, better Car-T cell fitness, and avoidance of lymphodepletion. As for advantages over its in vivo rivals, including Interius, the AbbVie-partnered Umoja, and AstraZeneca (via the recent purchase of EsoBiotec), Legend pointed to its T-cell recognition mechanism and the capacity of its lentiviral vector as areas of possible differentiation.