CD62L-selected umbilical cord blood universal CAR T cells

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) T cells exhibit distinct naïve ontogenetic profiles and may be an attractive source of starting cells for the production of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Pre-selection of UCB-T cells on the basis of CD62L expression was investigated as part of a machine-based manufacturing process, incorporating lentiviral transduction, CRISPR-Cas9 editing, T-cell expansion and depletion of residual TCRαβ T cells. This provided stringent mitigation against the risk of graft versus host disease (GVHD), and was combined with simultaneous knockout of CD52 to enable persistence of edited T cells in combination with preparative lymphodepletion using Alemtuzumab. Under compliant manufacturing conditions, two cell banks were generated with high levels of CAR19 expression and minimal carriage of TCRαβ T cells. Sufficient cells were cryopreserved in dose-banded aliquots at the end of each campaign to treat dozens of potential recipients. Molecular characterisation captured vector integration sites and CRISPR editing signatures and functional studies, including in vivo potency studies in humanised mice, confirmed anti-leukaemic activity comparable to peripheral blood-derived universal CAR19 T cells. Machine manufactured UCB derived T cells banks offer an alternative to autologous cell therapies and could help widen access to CAR T cells. ### Competing Interest Statement W.Q., C.G., R.P., A.S.G., and A.E.: UCLB has filed intellectual property in relation to therapeutic cells (WO/2018/115887; PCT/GB2017/053862) and U6 minimal promoter (WO/ 2020/183197; PCT/GB2020/050651). W.Q. has consulted for Wugen, Novartis, Kite, Autolus, Virocell & Galapagos. All other authors declare that they have no competing interests.