Bispecific B7H3/IL13Ra2 armored CAR-T therapy for recurrent or refractory glioblastoma

An Open-label, First-in-human, Dose-escalation and Dose-expansion, Phase I Study of Fully Human B7H3/IL13Ra2 Bispecific Armored Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Treatment of Recurrent or Refractory Glioblastoma

This trial will try giving repeated intraventricular injections of EPC-003 bispecific CAR-T cells to adults with B7H3 and/or IL13Ra2 positive recurrent or refractory glioblastoma to see if it is safe and helps control the tumor.

Quick facts

• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 14 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years to 75 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University (Academic / other)
• Drugs / interventions: CAR-T, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, Chimeric Antigen Receptor
• Locations: 1 site (Hangzhou, Zhejiang)
• Trial ID: NCT07193628 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This open-label Phase I dose-escalation and dose-expansion trial plans to enroll about 14 adults with recurrent or refractory glioblastoma whose tumors express B7H3 and/or IL13Ra2. Participants receive six weekly intraventricular injections of EPC-003 via an Ommaya reservoir across four dose levels (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 million cells per infusion) using an accelerated titration then 3+3 design. The primary focus is on safety and dose-limiting toxicities with a 28-day DLT observation period, while secondary measures include tumor response, CAR-T persistence, and additional safety endpoints. Monitoring includes neurological exams, imaging, laboratory tests, and scheduled clinical visits.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Adults aged 18–75 with recurrent or refractory glioblastoma, KPS ≥ 60%, measurable disease, expected survival ≥ 12 weeks, adequate organ function, and tumor B7H3 and/or IL13Ra2 expression above 30% are the intended candidates.

Not a fit: Patients whose tumors lack sufficient B7H3/IL13Ra2 expression, who have poor performance status or very limited life expectancy, or who cannot undergo intraventricular treatment via an Ommaya reservoir are unlikely to benefit.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could provide a targeted immunotherapy that better controls recurrent glioblastoma by delivering CAR-T cells directly into the central nervous system and potentially reducing systemic toxicity.

How similar studies have performed: Prior CAR-T studies in glioblastoma have shown occasional tumor regressions but few durable remissions, and bispecific armored CAR-T targeting B7H3 and IL13Ra2 is a relatively novel approach with limited clinical data so far.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* 1: Agree to comply with the trial treatment plan and visit schedule, voluntarily enroll in the trial, and sign the informed consent form in writing.

  2: On the day of signing the informed consent form, the subject shall be aged between 18 and 75 years inclusive, with no restriction on gender.

  3: Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score ≥ 60%

  4: Patients with B7H3- and/or IL13Ra2-positive recurrent or refractory glioblastoma confirmed by histopathology and/or cytology, meeting the following criteria: The positive expression rate of B7H3 \> 30%; The positive expression rate of IL13RA2 \> 30%; Disease progression or recurrence after standard treatment (postoperative radiotherapy combined with concurrent and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide); The subject has at least one measurable lesion (based on RANO criteria, with mutually perpendicular diameters both ≥ 10mm).

  5: Expected survival time ≥ 12 weeks;

  6: Subjects must have adequate organ function, meeting the following laboratory test criteria: Bone Marrow Function: Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) ≥ 1.5×10⁹/L; Platelet Count (PLT) ≥ 100×10⁹/L; Absolute Lymphocyte Count ≥ 0.3×10⁹/L; Hemoglobin (HGB) ≥ 8.0 g/dL. Liver function: Serum total bilirubin (T-Bil) ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN); for patients without liver involvement, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3 × ULN; for patients with liver involvement, ALT and AST ≤ 5 × ULN; Renal function: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.6 × ULN, or creatinine clearance (Ccr) ≥ 50 mL/min (calculated according to the Cockcroft-Gault formula); Coagulation function: International normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; Left ventricular ejection fraction \> 50%.

  7: Male subjects with reproductive potential and female subjects of childbearing age must agree to use effective contraceptive measures from the time of signing the informed consent form until 1 year after the last administration of the trial drug. For female subjects of childbearing age, the pregnancy test result within ≤7 days before the administration of the trial drug must be negative.

Exclusion Criteria:

* 1: The lesion is located in the posterior fossa structures such as the cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata.

  2: Complicated with meningeal metastasis or detectable malignant tumor cells in cerebrospinal fluid.

  3: Presence of epilepsy and/or high intracranial pressure that cannot be controlled or stabilized with medication.

  4: Subjects with current comorbid other central nervous system (CNS) diseases or a history of CNS diseases within 6 months prior to screening, such as uncontrolled cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack, stroke, and any other autoimmune diseases involving the central nervous system.

  5: Subjects who have been diagnosed with other malignant tumors within 5 years prior to screening, excluding adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix, basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, localized prostate cancer after radical treatment, and ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast after radical treatment.

  6: Subjects who have previously received treatment targeting B7H3/IL13Ra2.

  7: Subjects who have previously received gene therapy or cell therapy.

  8: Subjects who have a history of long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs or high-dose steroid hormones; inhaled hormones used for the treatment of chronic bronchial inflammation or asthma are not affected.

  9: Subjects who have previously received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; or those who are eligible for and agree to undergo autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

  10: Uncontrolled active bacterial, viral, or fungal infection.

  11: Any unstable systemic disease, including but not limited to cardiovascular diseases such as unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction (within 6 months before screening), congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association \[NYHA\] classification ≥ III), severe arrhythmias requiring medication, as well as pulmonary, hepatic, renal, digestive system, or metabolic diseases.

  12: Subjects who have received oral anticoagulant therapy within 1 week prior to CAR-T cell infusion.

  13: Subjects who have received anti-tumor therapy (including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, TTfield therapy, investigational trial drugs, and other anti-tumor treatments) within 4 weeks prior to cell infusion or within 5 half-lives of the drug (whichever is shorter), and/or have not recovered from toxic reactions (recovery to CTCAE Version 5.0 grade ≤ 1) (except for alopecia; peripheral neurotoxicity with grade ≤ 2 is acceptable).

  14: Subjects who have received radiotherapy within 12 weeks prior to cell infusion (those with progressive disease outside the irradiated field or those in whom pseudo-progression after radiotherapy/chemotherapy can be excluded are eligible for enrollment).

  15: Subjects who have undergone major surgery or significant traumatic injury within 4 weeks prior to informed consent, or have not recovered from the side effects of surgery, or plan to undergo major surgery during the trial period.

  16: Positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg); positive for hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) with peripheral blood HBV DNA quantitative test result above the lower limit of detection; positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody with peripheral blood HCV RNA quantitative test result above the lower limit of detection; positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody; subjects with active syphilis infection.

  17: Pregnant or lactating women.

  18: Investigators consider that the subject has other conditions that may affect compliance or make them unsuitable for participation in this trial.

Where this trial is running

Hangzhou, Zhejiang

• the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University — Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Feng Yan, MD & PhD — Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
• Study coordinator: Feng Yan, MD, PhD

Conditions Refractory Glioblastoma; Recurrent Glioblastoma; refractory glioblastoma; recurrent glioblastoma; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen; Interleukin-13 Receptor alpha2 Subunit