Obecabtagene autoleucel for treating refractory or relapsed B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Obecabtagene autoleucel is an advanced therapy medicinal product (gene therapy product) known as ‘Chimeric Antigen Receptor’ (CAR) T cell therapy which is in clinical development for relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) in adults. B-ALL is an aggressive type of leukaemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow), that can progress rapidly without treatment and has a high mortality rate. The cancer causes immature white blood cells to be released too early into the blood which blocks other types of blood cells (such as red blood cells and platelets) from circulating. Relapsed and refractory disease is where the disease goes through periods of being active or in remission, but as the disease progresses periods of remission often become shorter and less frequent. This results in symptoms such as frequent infections, bleeding, breathlessness, and fatigue. There are currently limited treatment options available for patients with B-ALL.