A logic-gated chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy with an armored, membrane-tethered IL-12 booster in patients with advanced solid tumors with HLA-A*02 loss of heterozygosity (LOH): EVEREST-2, a phase 1/2 study.
TPS2673 Background: The main challenge for developing CAR T therapies for solid tumors is the lack of targets that distinguish tumor from normal cells, resulting in on-target, off-tumor toxicity. Tmod logic-gated CAR T therapy addresses this challenge by incorporating 2 CARs on the same T cell: an activator targeting a marker on both tumor and normal cells, and a blocker targeting HLA-A*02 that inhibits CAR T activity against normal cells while allowing activation against tumor cells (with HLA-A*02 LOH), improving tumor selectivity and decreasing toxicity. Early safety results from 3 ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trials of logic-gated, Tmod CAR T therapy (EVEREST-1, EVEREST-2, and DENALI-1) have demonstrated manageable safety and tolerability in patients with advanced solid tumors (Grierson et al, SITC , 2024; Ward et al, SITC 2025; Specht et al, SABCS , 2025). Early efficacy results include the first ever reported complete response in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer following treatment with a CAR T-cell therapy (A2B694). A2B543 is an autologous Tmod CAR T therapy that contains the same Tmod construct as A2B694 with an added membrane-tethered IL-12 (memIL12) booster. Specifically, A2B543 is comprised of autologous Tmod cells transduced with 2 lentiviral vectors: one expressing both the HLA-A*02-targeted blocker and the mesothelin-targeted CAR activator; and a second expressing the memIL12 booster. Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a potent, pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a crucial role in inducing antitumor immune responses; however, systemic IL-12 can be prohibitively toxic (Jia et al, Front Immunol , 2022). In A2B543, expression of the memIL12 cassette is under the control of an NFAT promoter and is induced during antigen engagement or T cell activation. This inducible memIL12 is designed to reduce the toxicity associated with systemic IL-12 while enhancing the long-term potency and persistence of Tmod (Zhang et al, J Immunother Cancer , 2025). Methods: EVEREST-2 (NCT06051695) is a phase 1/2, open-label, nonrandomized study evaluating the safety and efficacy of A2B543 in adults with recurrent/metastatic mesothelin-expressing cancers with tumor-associated HLA-A*02 LOH, including mesothelioma, colorectal, non-small cell lung, pancreatic, or ovarian cancer. Patients are enrolled through BASECAMP-1 (NCT04981119), a master prescreening study that identifies patients with HLA LOH via next-generation sequencing and cryopreserves leukapheresis product. Upon progression, A2B543 is manufactured and then administered after lymphodepletion. The phase 1 primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of A2B543 and identify a recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). The phase 2 primary objective is to assess overall response rate. Clinical trial information: NCT06051695 .
Initial safety and efficacy of A2B694, a logic-gated mesothelin (MSLN)–targeted Tmod chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy in patients with advanced solid tumors with HLA-A*02 loss of heterozygosity (LOH).
8579 Background: LOH may provide a means to target tumor versus normal cells, to augment the efficacy and safety of MSLN-targeted programs (Hecht et al. JCO . 2022). A2B694 is an autologous, logic-gated, Tmod CAR T therapy designed to improve tumor selectivity and decrease toxicity by integrating an MSLN CAR activator with an HLA-A*02 blocker (Hamburger et al. Mol Imm. 2020). Methods: The first-in-human, open-label, phase 1/2 EVEREST-2 (NCT06051695) study of A2B694 in patients with recurrent/metastatic MSLN-expressing cancers with tumor-associated HLA-A*02 LOH. The prescreening study BASECAMP-1 (NCT04981119) identifies eligible patients and cryopreserves leukapheresis product. Upon progression, A2B694 is manufactured and administered after lymphodepletion. Phase 1 primary objective: evaluate the safety and tolerability of A2B694 and identify a recommended phase 2 dose. Results: As of 05 January 2026, 13 patients were enrolled: 8 women/5 men, median age 59 years, 11 non-Hispanic White/2 Hispanic with unknown race. Tumor types included colorectal (n = 4), ovarian (n = 3), pancreatic (n = 3), non–small cell lung adenocarcinoma (NSCLC), gastro-esophageal, and mesothelioma (n = 1 each). A2B694 dose level (DL) groups were: DL1: 1×10 8 cells (n = 3), DL2: 2×10 8 cells (n = 4), DL3: 4×10 8 cells (n = 5), and DL4: 6×10 8 cells plus low-dose IL-2 (n = 1). Lymphodepletion prior to administration of A2B694 was well-tolerated, with expected, transient cytopenias. The only adverse event reported in more than 1 patient was grade 3 neutropenia. One patient had grade 3 ICANS and 1 patient had grade 1 CRS. There were no dose-limiting toxicities or new safety signals after up to 17 months follow-up. All 13 patients received A2B694, were efficacy-evaluable, and had A2B694 detected post-infusion in peripheral blood. While A2B694 was not detected in tumor biopsies collected in patients treated at DL1 (0/2), all patients treated at DL2-DL4 with available biopsies (3/3) had detectable A2B694 in the tumor microenvironment. A patient with KRAS G12V /STK11 co-mutated NSCLC who had progressed on carboplatin, pemetrexed, and pembrolizumab achieved a complete response (CR) at D90 post-infusion per RECIST 1.1 by central review and had a confirmed CR at D180. In addition, PET-CT scan and ctDNA on D190 demonstrated no evidence of disease. On D243, the patient had a CNS relapse, with an ongoing non-CNS CR per RANO-BM at D284. At M12, the patient's CT showed no new findings and persistence of A2B694 in the blood was confirmed by ddPCR. Conclusions: We report the first patient with NSCLC to have a CR after CAR T. Overall, A2B694 demonstrated manageable safety and tolerability in patients with advanced solid MSLN-expressing tumors with tumor-associated HLA-A*02 LOH. The maximum tolerated dose has not been reached; dose-escalation continues. Clinical trial information: NCT06051695 .
535 EVEREST-2: a phase 1/2 study of A2B694, a logic-gated Tmod CAR T therapy to treat solid tumors expressing mesothelin (MSLN) with HLA-A*02 loss of heterozygosity: initial safety and efficacy results
EVEREST-2: A seamless phase 1/2 study of A2B694, a logic-gated Tmod chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy, in patients with pancreatic cancer (PANC) or other mesothelin (MSLN)-expressing solid tumors and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)–A*02 loss o
TPS788 Background: MSLN is a desirable candidate for targeted therapy given its limited expression in normal tissues and its overexpression in several malignancies, including PANC, mesothelioma, non-small cell lung, and ovarian cancers (TCGA 2022). MSLN-targeted CAR T and T-cell receptor therapies have shown promising clinical activity; however, on-target, off-tumor toxicity, including fatal events, have occurred (1-3). Autologous logic-gated Tmod CAR T therapies address the challenges of on-target, off-tumor toxicity by combining 2 CARs: activating and blocking receptors. The activator recognizes a tumor-associated antigen present on the surface of both tumor and normal cells; the blocker prevents CAR T activity when it binds HLA-A*02, which is present in normal cells and often lost in tumor cells. Thus, in patients with tumor-associated HLA-A*02 LOH, the blocker prevents on-target, off-tumor toxicity on normal cells due to retained HLA-A*02 expression (4). HLA-A*02 LOH is observed in various solid tumors, including ~20% of PANC (5). Two autologous CAR T therapies are currently under investigation: A2B530, targeting carcinoembryonic antigen, in the EVEREST-1 trial, and A2B694, targeting MSLN, in the EVEREST-2 trial, described herein. A2B694 may provide a therapeutic window to treat patients with PANC and other MSLN-expressing solid tumors exhibiting HLA-A*02 LOH due to its unique discriminatory mechanism. Methods: EVEREST-2 (NCT06051695) is a first-in-human, phase 1/2, open-label, nonrandomized study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of A2B694 for recurrent unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic cancers with MSLN expression, including PANC. Eligible patients must have exhausted options of potentially curative therapy and have recurrent disease. Enrollment to EVEREST-2 occurs through the prescreening study BASECAMP-1 (NCT04981119), in which patients with tumor-associated HLA-A*02 LOH are identified via next-generation sequencing (Tempus AI, Inc) and leukapheresis product is collected. A2B694 is manufactured from cryopreserved T cells when clinically appropriate for patients. The primary objective of phase 1 is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of A2B694 and identify the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). The dose-expansion phase will confirm RP2D and collect biomarker data to further characterize A2B694. Phase 2 will assess the primary endpoint overall response rate per RECIST v1.1 and secondary endpoints progression-free survival and overall survival. The first patient was dosed on April 24, 2024 and dose escalation is ongoing. 1. Beatty, et al. Gastroenterology . 2018. 2. Haas, et al. Mol Ther . 2023. 3. Hong, et al. ESMO 2021. Abstr 9590. 4. Hamburger, et al. Mol Immunol . 2020. 5. Hecht, et al. J Clin Oncol . 2022. Clinical trial information: NCT06051695 .
588 EVEREST-1: initial safety data from a seamless phase 1/2 study of A2B530, a logic-gated Tmod CAR T-cell therapy, in patients with solid tumors associated with CEA expression also exhibiting HLA-LOH