Atara Biotherapeutics reports clinical hold placed on Ebvallo programs, ATA3219

Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA) announced that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on Atara’s active investigational new drug, or IND, applications. These INDs include the Ebvallo program as monotherapy treatment for adult and pediatric patients two years of age and older with Epstein-Barr virus positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as ATA3219, an allogeneic CD19-targeted CAR-T therapy, for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and systemic lupus erythematosus. Specifically identified subjects currently enrolled in the clinical studies who have the potential to derive clinical benefit may continue to receive treatment in accordance with the ongoing study protocols. Screening and enrollment of new participants in both programs have been paused. The clinical hold for Ebvallo is directly linked to inadequately addressed GMP compliance issues identified during the pre-license inspection of the third-party manufacturing facility referenced in the complete response letter for Ebvallo that was announced on January 16. While ATA3219 drug product is manufactured at a separate, fully compliant GMP-certified facility, the starting materials used in its production are affected by the compliance issues at the same third-party facility referenced in the CRL. These issues, which underlie both the CRL and the clinical hold, are specific to the referenced third-party manufacturing facility and do not affect Atara’s second third-party manufacturer, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies facility in Thousand Oaks, California. The FDB facility remains a component of Atara’s long-term manufacturing strategy for both assets. Atara and FDA have discussed and agreed upon the actions necessary to release the clinical holds.