CMV~IMPACT Trial

Description

Following a bone marrow (allogeneic haematopoietic stem cells) transplant, it may take up to 12 months to rebuild the parts of the immune system required to protect against viral infection. Patients who carry the latent CMV virus or receive a transplant from a CMV-positive donor are at high risk of experiencing CMV infection or reactivation during this period and are consistently monitored following transplant for signs of infection.

While antiviral drugs can be effective, they sometimes involve lengthy hospital stays and severe side effects. As an alternative, Cell Medica is developing a treatment strategy referred to as immunoprophylactive adoptive cell therapy infusion (IMPACT), consisting of CMV-specific T cells which can be found in a blood sample from a CMV-positive donor. One dose may be all that is needed to transfer immunity from the donor to the patient.

• Description
• For Clinicians

The clinical results of four studies published in prestigious scientific journals have shown evidence that it is possible to transfer CMV-specific T cells from the donor to the patient in a safe manner and these cells provide protection against CMV infection. Cell Medica is sponsoring a clinical study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, to investigate this treatment further. All of the lead scientists involved in the academic studies referred to above are advising Cell Medica on the CMV~IMPACT study.