Celyad Provides Update on Allogeneic CAR-T Franchise including CYAD-101 and shRNA Platform at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program

• First-in-class TIM-based non-gene edited allogeneic CAR-T candidate, CYAD-101, shows encouraging clinical activity with no evidence of graft-versus-host disease in relapsed/refractory metastatic colorectal cancer patients
  
• Two patients achieved a confirmed partial response and nine patients achieved stable disease, leading to a disease control rate of 73%
• Overall safety and clinical activity data are HLA-independent indicating that CYAD-101 cells can be used in a broad patient population regardless of the HLA haplotype
• Expansion cohort of the alloSHRINK trial evaluating CYAD-101 following FOLFIRI preconditioning chemotherapy is expected to begin in the fourth quarter 2020
• shRNA platform for next-generation allogeneic CAR-T candidates provides proof-of-principle to simultaneously knockdown up to four genes in a single construct
• Management to hold a conference call on Monday, June 1^st, at 2 p.m. CEST/ 8 a.m. EDT

MONT-SAINT-GUIBERT, Belgium, June 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celyad (Euronext Brussels and Paris, and Nasdaq: CYAD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of CAR-T cell therapies, today announced updates from the company’s allogeneic programs, including additional data from the Phase 1 alloSHRINK trial evaluating the T cell receptor (TCR) inhibitory molecule (TIM)-based, non-gene edited allogeneic CAR-T  candidate, CYAD‑101, for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and the company’s short hairpin RNA (shRNA) platform underpinning the next-generation, non-gene edited CYAD-200 series of CAR-T candidates. These data were presented at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Program from May 29-31, 2020.

Dr. Frédéric Lehmann, VP of Clinical Development at Celyad, commented, “The latest safety and clinical activity data from the alloSHRINK trial in metastatic colorectal cancer patients further demonstrate CYAD-101’s differentiated profile as an allogeneic CAR-T candidate. The absence of clinical evidence of graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) for CYAD-101, which co-expresses the NKG2D receptor with our novel, TIM technology used to knockdown signaling of the TCR complex, confirms the potential of non-gene edited approaches for the development of allogeneic CAR-T  candidates. Taking these positive clinical data into account, we have decided to broaden the program to include evaluating CYAD-101 following FOLFIRI chemotherapy in refractory patients as an expansion cohort of the alloSHRINK trial. Overall, treatment of advanced metastatic colorectal cancer patients beyond second line regimens remains a high unmet medical need, and we believe CYAD-101 could offer a unique immunotherapeutic approach to treat this incurable disease.”