As part of the Horizon 2020 CARAMBA project, Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE) interviewed experts on different aspects of the CARAMBA clinical trial: manufacturing process, safety updates, and immune monitoring. The videos were filmed during the ASH annual meeting in December 2022. The CARAMBA project is a phase I/II clinical trial investigating innovative immunotherapy for treating myeloma, known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T). Through strategic collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including MPE, the consortium aims to ensure the streamlined transition of CAR-T from the laboratory to myeloma patients in the clinic.
CARAMBA is specifically looking at targeting CAR-T at a protein called SLAMF7 which is expressed on the surface of myeloma cells. The safety and efficacy of SLAMF7-specific CAR-T cells are assessed in myeloma patients through this clinical trial. This therapy involves collecting a type of white blood cell which makes up part of the immune system (T-cells) from patients and equipping them with a synthetic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). When reintroduced into patients’ bodies, the CAR acts like a sensor boosting the ability of the T-cells to find and kill myeloma cells.
You can watch the videos here:
Manufacturing process:
Prof. Dr. Halvard B. Bönig, Professor for Translational Development of Cellular Therapeutics at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
Immune Monitoring:
Dr. Bruno Paiva, Scientific Coordinator of the Diagnostic Laboratories of the University of Navarra, Spain
Safety updates:
Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, Head of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Unit at Lille University Hospital, France
Explore MPE CAR-T resources here.
For further information about Horizon2020 CARAMBA, please visit the CARAMBA website.