Clinical trial Recruiting at 1 site Phase 1 Interventional Ages 18 to 75

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

Official title: 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

Run by Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · NCT07193628 · Data updated 2026-11-12

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.

More Recurrent Glioblastoma trials

Quick facts

PhasePhase 1
Study typeInterventional
Ages18 Years to 75 Years
SexAll
Enrollment14 (estimated)
SponsorSecond Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine
Academic / other
Drugs / interventionsCAR-T, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, Chimeric Antigen Receptor
Locations1 site (Hangzhou, Zhejiang)
StatusRecruiting
StartedSeptember 26, 2025
Main results expectedDecember 31, 2027
Study endsDecember 31, 2028
Registry record updatedNovember 18, 2025
Trial IDNCT07193628 on ClinicalTrials.gov

Is this trial a fit for you?

Likely a 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.

Probably 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.

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

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.

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 gone: 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.

Who can join: the full rules

Show full inclusion / exclusion 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 it's running

  • 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
  • Email: yan.feng7@163.com
  • Phone: 86-19700700159

Similar studies

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How to take part

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.