Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is one of the most common forms of cancer in childhood. 20% of children cannot survive the treatments currently available.

CD19TPALL

A Clinical Trial sponsored by University College London and managed by Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre

 B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the commonest cancer in childhood. Despite advances, 20% of children fail currently available treatments, including stem cell transplant. Novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed since patients who relapse after stem cell transplant are currently incurable.

 The CD19TPALL is an international clinical trial using a novel approach to treating children who develop evidence of disease after stem cell transplant, or who relapse and undergo a second transplant procedure. The aim of the study is to improve their immune response against leukaemia cells by administering cells from donors genetically modified to recognise a specific molecule on the surface of the leukaemia cells and kill them. If successful, such an approach may be of major benefit to patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and has important broader implications for other cancers which may be targeted using a similar approach.

 BioRep’s involvement in this innovative study involves the assembly of sampling kits for the starting material for the genetically modified cells. BioRep also manages the transport of materials, including room temperature courier shipments of blood samples throughout Europe or further afield and courier shipments of the genetically modified cells in liquid nitrogen vapour transported to hospitals in England, France, Germany and Italy.