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ASCO 2026 | Azer-cel: a novel allogeneic CD19 CAR T-cell product being explored for B-cell malignancies
Supriya Gupta, MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, comments on the characteristics of azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel), an allogeneic CD19 CAR T-cell product, highlighting its differentiation from autologous products through its derivation from healthy adult donors and off-the-shelf availability. This interview took place during the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
So Azer-cel is an allogeneic CD19 product and so the way it differs from autologous is that the T cells are derived from healthy adult donors rather than the patient itself and it’s available off the shelf which allows for rapid delivery. The way it is manufactured is that it uses the proprietary ARCUS gene editing technology, which introduces the CAR transgene via electroporation, and it knocks out the native T-cell receptor, thereby preventing graft-versus-host disease from occurring...
So Azer-cel is an allogeneic CD19 product and so the way it differs from autologous is that the T cells are derived from healthy adult donors rather than the patient itself and it’s available off the shelf which allows for rapid delivery. The way it is manufactured is that it uses the proprietary ARCUS gene editing technology, which introduces the CAR transgene via electroporation, and it knocks out the native T-cell receptor, thereby preventing graft-versus-host disease from occurring. And the patient population is of interest for this particular study is patients with B-cell malignancies. This particular product has been studied in various B-cell malignancies, including B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and CLL. So this is currently an investigational product that’s not been FDA approved. It’s still in phase 1B studies, and so we’re hoping down the road we’ll have larger studies and eventually lead to FDA approval.
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