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Conditioning chemotherapy is used to deplete hematopoietic stem cells in the recipient’s marrow, facilitating donor cell engraftment. Although effective, a major issue with chemotherapy is the systemic genotoxicity that increases the risk for secondary malignancies. Antibody conjugates targeting hematopoietic cells are an emerging non-genotoxic method of opening the marrow niche and promoting engraftment of transplanted cells while maintaining intact marrow cellularity. Specifically, this platform would be useful in diseases associated with DNA damage or cancer predisposition, such as dyskeratosis congenita, Schwachman-Diamond syndrome, and Fanconi anemia (FA). Our approach utilizes antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) as an alternative conditioning regimen in an FA mouse model of autologous transplantation. Antibodies targeting either CD45 or CD117 were conjugated to saporin (SAP), a ribosomal toxin. FANCA knockout mice were conditioned with either CD45-SAP or CD117-SAP prior to receiving whole marrow from a heterozygous healthy donor. Bone marrow and peripheral blood analysis revealed equivalent levels of donor engraftment, with minimal toxicity in ADC-treated groups as compared with cyclophosphamide-treated controls. Our findings suggest ADCs may be an effective conditioning strategy in stem cell transplantation not only for diseases where traditional chemotherapy is not tolerated, but also more broadly for the field of blood and marrow transplantation.

The goal of high-throughput screening is to enable screening of compound libraries in an automated manner to identify quality starting points for optimization. This often involves screening a large diversity of compounds in an assay that preserves a connection to the disease pathology. Phenotypic screening is a powerful tool for drug identification, in that assays can be run without prior understanding of the target and with primary cells that closely mimic the therapeutic setting. Advanced automation and high-content imaging have enabled many complex assays, but these are still relatively slow and low throughput. To address this limitation, we have developed an automated workflow that is dedicated to processing complex phenotypic assays for flow cytometry. The system can achieve a throughput of 50,000 wells per day, resulting in a fully automated platform that enables robust phenotypic drug discovery. Over the past 5 years, this screening system has been used for a variety of drug discovery programs, across many disease areas, with many molecules advancing quickly into preclinical development and into the clinic. This report will highlight a diversity of approaches that automated flow cytometry has enabled for phenotypic drug discovery.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) can be a highly effective, and often curative, treatment for patients with AML. At present, myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens are associated with severe acute and long-term toxicities. A subset of transplant-eligible AML patients undergoes reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens; while reducing toxicities, RIC regimens have higher incidence of post-transplant relapse and graft failure vs MAC. Thus, the need for safe and effective targeted conditioning agents for a broader use in transplant in both malignant as well as non-malignant settings is critical. We developed MGTA-117, an anti-human CD117 (c-kit)-targeted antibody (Ab) engineered for a short-half life (t1/2) conjugated to amanitin, an RNA polymerase II inhibitor, to enable ADC clearance prior to HSCT. MGTA-117 has a t1/2 of 91 hours in humanized NSG (hNSG) mice compared to the parental wild type (WT) Ab with a t1/2 of 217 hours in human FCRN mice. Via optimization of the linker-toxin moiety, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in C57BL/6 mice was improved 17-fold compared to previous generations of the ADC. The antibody component specifically binds CD117, which is expressed on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) and in ~80% of patient cells with AML and MDS (Gao et al. PLOS One. 2015). When conjugated to amanitin, this ADC robustly depletes both CD117+ HSPCs and leukemic blasts. This targeted and optimized approach not only broadens the therapeutic window across preclinical models, but also provides the dual benefit of effective conditioning for HSCT and reduction of target-expressing tumor cells. Previously we have shown MGTA-117 elicits potent cytotoxicity on both primary human CD34+ cells and a CD117+ AML cell line in vitro. In hNSG mice, a single dose (0.1 mg/kg) of MGTA-117 selectively depleted ≥95% human HSPCs (Figures 1A and B). To demonstrate anti-leukemic activity of MGTA-117, we studied it in multiple human leukemic xenograft murine models that mimic untreated and refractory AML, including both cell line derived (Kasumi-1, CD117-expressing leukemia cell line, in NSG mice) and patient derived (AML PDX 1: J000106134, treatment naïve AML PDX and AML PDX 2: J000106132, heavily pretreated relapsed refractory AML PDX in NSG-SGM3 mice) xenograft models. MGTA-117 was well-tolerated in all three AML xenograft models both as a single dose (1-10 mg/kg) and as a multi-dose (3 mg/kg QODx2) regimen. In the Kasumi-1 model (Figure 1C), MGTA-117, both as a single dose (3 & 10 mg/kg) and as a multi-dose (3 mg/kg QODx2), resulted in a 2.4-2.7-fold increase in median survival compared to vehicle (PBS), isotype-ADC, or standard of care (SOC) cytarabine (ARA-C, 30 mg/kg QDx5). Furthermore, a single dose of MGTA-117 significantly decreased peripheral tumor burden leading to delayed tumor growth resulting in a 2-3.3 fold and 1.3-1.8 fold increase in median survival in the treatment naïve AML PDX 1 and highly pretreated AML PDX 2 models (respectively) compared to vehicle, isotype-ADC and SOC. ARA-C treatment demonstrated a modest improvement in survival in both the AML PDX 1 (1.3 fold), AML PDX 2 (1.3 fold) models compared to control. These data demonstrate that MGTA-117 has potential to be a potent targeted conditioning and anti-leukemia agent. Together with prior reports demonstrating MGTA-117 as an effective conditioning agent in an animal model, this targeted ADC approach has the potential to improve HSCT outcomes in AML by reducing leukemic burden peri-transplant and may decrease the toxicities associated with current conditioning regimens. Disclosures Lanieri: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Lamothe:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Miske:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. McDonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Bhattarai:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Latimer:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Dushime:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Jain:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Palchaudhuri:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Knihtila:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Pearse:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Davis:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Recently, age-related clonal hematopoiesis (CH) has been recognized as a risk factor for CVD of comparable magnitude to smoking, hypertension and hypercholesteremia. While these other risk factors can be mitigated by pharmacological intervention or lifestyle changes, there are no such strategies in place for CH. As CH is initiated by mutations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), a hematopoietic stem cell transplantat (HSCT) could serve as a curative therapy. However, stem cell transplantation is associated with significant toxicity due in part from current conditioning regimens. There is also no evidence that depletion of the disease-driving clones impacts established atherosclerosis. We developed an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting murine CD45. In the context of stem cell transplantation, the CD45-ADC efficiently depletes endogenous HSCs as well as mature leukocytes while enabling rapid engraftment of an infused stem cell graft. In addition, the CD45-ADCs are not based on broad-acting genotoxic agents that lead to long-lasting health risks. We decided to test if CD45-ADC and HSCT could halt atherosclerosis progression through elimination Tet2 knockout HSCs and their disease propagating myeloid progeny. To model CH associated atherosclerosis, LDLR knockout mice were transplanted with 20% CFP labeled wild-type (WT) or Tet2 knockout bone marrow. A single dose of isotype- or CD45-ADC was delivered after 6 weeks of atherosclerosis development and was followed by an infusion of WT CD45.1 bone marrow. As has been reported before, we observed in the isotype-ADC treated animals that Tet2 deficiency leads to a competitive advantage over WT cells. Tet2 knockout cells contributed to peripheral blood chimerism at successively increasing levels and mice harboring the knockout graft showed a significant expansion of their HSC population. Despite their obvious advantage, Tet2 deficient HSC were as efficiently depleted as their WT counterparts upon CD45-ADC and HSCT. Peripheral blood and bone marrow chimerism were similar in WT and Tet2 knockout hosts and the expanded HSC pool was successfully curbed 6 weeks following the intervention. More importantly, CD45-ADC also depleted cells in the atherosclerotic plaques as efficiently as in blood in both WT and Tet2 mutant recipients. This resulted in a significant reduction of myeloid cell infiltration in CD45-ADC conditioned and transplanted knockout hosts and ultimately lead to drastically reduced plaque size in these animals. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that CD45-ADC and HSCT efficiently replaces the disease driving myeloid cells in the atherosclerosis plaques leading to an overall reduction in disease burden. CD45-ADC and transplantation may thus offer a novel therapy for CH and its associated morbidities. Disclosures Palchaudhuri: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Gillard:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Scadden:Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Background HSC dose and HLA match are risk factors that impact mortality using cord blood units (CBU) in transplant. Low CD34+ doses result in prolonged cytopenia and higher graft failure risk. A minimum cell dose of 3.0 × 107 total nucleated cells (TNC)/kg has generally been required in CBU selection; however, cell dose limits often require the use of a 2nd unit and markedly limits the availability of 7-8/8 HLA-matched units in larger patients. MGTA-456 is a cell therapy product utilizing an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist for expansion of CD34+ HSCs in vitro. In prior studies with fresh MGTA-456, 36 patients with hematologic malignancies demonstrated rapid neutrophil recovery and 100% engraftment. This study (NCT03674411) will evaluate the safety and efficacy of cryopreserved MGTA-456 and the effectiveness of lowering the TNC threshold of the selected CBU to 1.0 × 107 TNC/kg before expansion to improve HLA match. Methods 13 patients aged 2-47 years (12-159 kg) with high-risk hematologic malignancy were enrolled with 11 transplanted to date. Patients received cyclophosphamide 120 mg/kg, fludarabine 75 mg/m2 and total body irradiation 1320 cGy or a busulfan-based regimen for children ≤3 years of age prior to MGTA-456 with cyclosporine/mycophenolate mofetil prophylaxis. G-CSF began the day after infusion until the neutrophil count exceeded 2500/uL for 3 days. Results MGTA-456 contained a median 2.3 × 109 CD34+ cells (range, 0.65-8.0) after expansion (422-fold expansion of CD34+ cells [range, 219-1313]). Neutrophil recovery occurred in all patients with a median of 15 days (range, 0-31), similar to recipients of fresh MGTA-456 in a prior study (median 14 days) and significantly faster than in recipients of unmodified CBUs (median 25 days). Median platelet recovery was 41 days (range 24-49) vs 64 days with unmodified CBUs. MGTA-456 CD34+CD90+ content strongly correlated with speed of neutrophil recovery (Fig. 1), consistent with preclinical murine data showing CD34+CD90+ cells represent the true engraftable HSC population. Lowering the TNC requirement to 1.0 × 107 TNC/kg for CBU selection pre-expansion improved HLA match and/or eliminated the need for double CBU transplant in all 5 patients weighing >80 kg. Three patients received 8/8 grafts who would have otherwise received 1 or 2 6/8 units (n=2) or two 7/8 units (n=1) which may account for the low incidence of aGVHD overall (3 cases of Grade 1-2 and no Grade 3-4). With a follow-up of 5.2 months (0.4-8.5 months), all patients are alive. Conclusion Cryopreserved MGTA-456 cell therapy resulted in rapid and 100% engraftment with speed of neutrophil recovery correlating with CD34+CD90+ cell dose in patients with high risk hematologic malignancy. Expansion of smaller CBUs increases the chance of finding a better HLA match, particularly for adults, thus reducing the barriers associated with low cell dose and poor HLA match in CBU transplantation.

Current approaches to conditioning prior to transplant and gene therapy employ non-specific genotoxic agents that are associated with severe acute and long-term toxicities. Consequently, many transplant eligible patients either refuse transplant or receive reduced intensity regimens, which still have adverse toxicities with increased risk of relapse and graft failure. Importantly, patients with non-malignant disease may choose to forgo a potentially curative transplant due to risks of conditioning-associated toxicities, potentially limiting access of these patients to transplant and emerging HSC-based gene therapy. Thus, safe and effective targeted conditioning agents would have broad application to transplant in both malignant and non-malignant settings as well as gene therapy. We developed a CD117 antibody conjugated to amanitin (anti-CD117-AM) to specifically deplete hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) as a novel approach to patient preparation for allogeneic and autologous transplant. ADCs have significant single agent anti-tumor activity in the clinic, however, achieving suitable tolerability at efficacious doses has presented a clinical challenge. We engineered the properties of the anti-CD117-AM to provide a broad therapeutic window across pre-clinical models. Through modification of the linker moiety, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the ADC in C57Bl6 mice was improved 17-fold compared to previous versions. The engineered anti-CD117-AM maintained potent cytotoxicity on primary human CD34+ cells and a CD117+ AML cell line ( 95% of human HSPCs (Fig. 1A). Single doses of the anti-CD117-AM demonstrated robust tumor control in xenograft models of AML, despite its purposefully shortened half-life as a targeted agent for transplant indications (Fig. 1B). The tolerability of the engineered anti-CD117-AM was assessed in cynomolgus NHPs. The ADC was well-tolerated with an MTD at ≥ 2 mg/kg (Fig. 1C). A single dose of the ADC was able to drive marked depletion of HSPCs and downstream progeny. The pharmacokinetics of the ADC exhibited linear clearance supporting tolerability well above target saturation. In summary, optimization of the chemical linker between antibody and payload yielded a well-tolerated ADC with wide safety margins that could eliminate HSPCs and confer survival benefit in AML xenograft models. ADC-mediated conditioning through selective depletion of CD117+ cells may provide an improved approach to patient preparation for transplant in malignant and non-malignant disease including gene therapy, broadening patient access to potentially curative treatments.

Clinical application of umbilical cord blood (UCB) as a source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation is limited by low CD34+ cell dose, increased risk of graft failure and slow hematopoietic recovery. While the cell dose limitation is partially mitigated by using two UCB units, larger dosed single units would be preferable. We have evaluated the feasibility and safety of StemRegenin-1 (SR-1), an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist that expands CD34+ cells, by placing one of the two units in expansion culture. SR-1 produced a 330-fold increase in CD34+ cells and led to engraftment in 17/17 patients at a median of 15 days for neutrophils and 49 days for platelets, significantly faster than in patients treated with unmanipulated UCB. Taken together, the marked expansion, absence of graft failure and enhanced hematopoietic recovery support testing of SR-1 expansion as a stand-alone graft and suggest it may ameliorate a limitation of UCB transplantation.

Introduction Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (Allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders. However, current conditioning regimens limit the use of this curative procedure in many eligible patients due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities, including organ toxicity, infertility, and secondary malignancies. We are developing novel antibody drug conjugates (ADC) as conditioning agents that can achieve full myeloablation as a single agent that may reduce toxicity associated with current conditioning regimens. We have generated an anti-murine ADC targeting CD45 and assessed its effectiveness as single agent conditioning regimen in a fully allogeneic murine HSCT model. Methods Our tool CD45 ADC is engineered for rapid clearance (t1/2=1.7hr) to enable HSCT after conditioning. A single dose of 3 mg/kg is fully myeloablative in C57BL/6 mice. To determine if the tool CD45-ADC could successfully condition recipients for fully mismatched allo-HSCT, we evaluated the ability of a single dose of 5 mg/kg of the tool CD45-ADC to condition C57BL/6 hosts (H-2b, CD45.2+) for transplant with cells from CByJ.SJL(B6) donors (H-2d, CD45.1+). A matched dose of an isotype ADC (Iso-ADC) was used as a negative control, while 9 Gy TBI was used as a conventional conditioning positive control. Conditioned mice were transplanted with 4x107 whole BM cells, and peripheral blood chimerism was assessed over 22 weeks. At 22 weeks, donor hematopoietic cell chimerism was evaluated in the spleen, bone marrow, and thymus of recipients. Results In the fully mismatched Balb/c → C57Bl/6 allo-HSCT model, conditioning with a single dose of 5 mg/kg of CD45-ADC as a single agent was well tolerated and enabled full allogeneic donor chimerism (n=2 separate experiments). Peripheral blood chimerism was observed in mice conditioned with CD45-ADC at week 4 and maintained through week 22 (Figure 1). Multilineage reconstitution was observed in the T-, B-, and myeloid cell compartments with >90% donor chimerism seen in each compartment, indicative of HSC engraftment. These results were comparable to chimerism seen in the 9 Gy TBI positive control. Treatment with a non-targeting isotype ADC at a matched dose was not effective (Figure 1). For all groups, stem cell chimerism in the bone marrow matched that in the periphery. Splenic and thymic donor immune cell reconstitution was similar between CD45-ADC and TBI conditioning at week 22 (Figure 1), demonstrating that CD45-ADC efficiently depletes host lymphocytes in secondary lymphoid organs while preserving the capacity of the host thymus to support de novo generation of donor-derived T cells after transplantation. Conclusion Conditioning with CD45-ADC was well-tolerated, fully myeloablative, and enabled complete chimerism in a full mismatch allo-HSCT model as a single agent. This targeted, readily translatable approach for safer conditioning could improve the risk-benefit profile for allogenic and haploidentical HSCT and may extend the curative potential of HSCT to more patients suffering from blood cancers and other diseases that may benefit from HSCT. Disclosures Hyzy: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Gillard:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Hammond:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Clark:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Bhat:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Lamothe:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Palchaudhuri:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment. Pearse:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. McDonagh:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Kiem:Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy; CSL: Consultancy; Homology Medicines: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Rocket Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Umoja: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Enochian: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vor Biopharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Wagner:Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Novartis: Research Funding; Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; BlueRock: Research Funding; Gadeta: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Blazar:Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy; Fate Therapeutics Inc.: Research Funding; BlueRock Therapeutics: Research Funding; Childrens' Cancer Research Fund: Research Funding; KidsFirst Fund: Research Funding; Tmunity: Other: Co-founder; BlueRock Therapeuetic: Consultancy. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Davis:Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company.

For patients with refractory or high-risk hematologic malignancies, like acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (Allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative approach. Morbidities and mortality associated with current conditioning regimens limit the use of this curative procedure. As a result, many eligible patients do not consider transplant and 2/3 of those transplanted are only able to tolerate a reduced intensity conditioning regimen, which is associated with increased relapse rates (Scott, J Clin Onc 2017). Thus, there is an urgent need for a safer and more effective conditioning agent with improved disease control. Our targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC) approach is designed to improve the safety of current conditioning protocols by specifically depleting CD45+ cells. We developed a novel anti-human CD45-targeted short half-life ADC conjugated to amanitin (AM). CD45 is the ideal target for allo-HSCT conditioning because it is expressed on all hematopoietic cells (except erythrocytes, plasma cells and platelets), and most hematologic malignancies. Given their targeted specificity, anti-CD45-AM can potentially provide dual benefit to leukemia patients by combining effective conditioning for HSCT with depletion of target-bearing tumor cells. To demonstrate our engineered short half-life anti-human CD45-AM has anti-leukemic activity we tested it in human leukemic xenograft murine models. A panel of models were evaluated to mimic untreated and refractory disease; AML PDX models (from treatment naive and relapsed post allogeneic HCT patients), ALL cells from an immortalized cell line (REH-Luc), T-ALL patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model (from a patient progressing post DHAP chemotherapy). In the REH-Luc model, single doses of anti-CD45-AM were well tolerated, and cytoreductive resulting in delayed tumor growth compared to vehicle (PBS), isotype-AM, or standard of care (SoC) doxorubicin. Anti-CD45-AM treatment in the PDX AML, and T-ALL significantly decreased peripheral tumor burden resulting in delayed tumor growth compared to vehicle, isotype-AM, and comparable to 2 clinically validated standards of care (Ara-C, and dexamethasone respectively; figure 1). As designed for the transplant indication, the ADC had a reduced half-life compared to wild type antibody controls (16 vs 79h). These data in humanized murine xenograft models demonstrate that short half-life CD45-AM ADCs are potent targeted anti-leukemia agents. Together with prior reports demonstrating the potency of anti-CD45-AM as conditioning agents, these non-genotoxic ADCs may be useful in reducing disease burden and inducing durable remissions in patients after transplant particularly those who receive reduced intensity conditioning that are at high risk of relapse.

Background Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in IMDs prevents progression of fatal neurodegeneration. Cord blood as a preferred donor source is disadvantaged by delayed engraftment and graft failure due to low CD34+ cell numbers. Higher cell doses are correlated with improved outcomes and cross-correction of disease. MGTA-456 is a novel cell therapy which provides a high dose of CD34+ cells and is being investigated in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical study to assess the safety and long-term outcomes in IMD patients. Methods A Phase 2 trial (NCT03406962) is enrolling 12 patients Results 2 patients with cALD and 3 with MPS I, have been treated per protocol and with follow-up up to 1 year. In patients with cALD, resolution of gadolinium enhancement on MRI occurred by one month and was sustained throughout the follow-up period (Fig 1). Loes scores, a measure of disease severity, and Neurologic Function Scores remained stable over this time period consistent with a halt in disease progression. Neurocognitive function remains stable to date with no deterioration in Wechsler IQ Scale and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. MPS I patients showed normalization of blood a-L-iduronidase and excretion of MPS I-specific urinary glycosoaminoglycans declined from baseline over the period of observation (Fig 2). Neurologic development and function scores as measured by Bayley Infant Development and Vineland Scales are being collected. Patients received a median CD34+ dose of 110 × 106 cells/kg and TNC dose of 26 × 107 cells/kg with a median duration of neutropenia of 1 day (range 0-9) compared to a median of 8 days for historical controls. Myeloid chimerism was ≥98% donor in evaluable patients by day +14 and immune reconstitution of CD4 and CD8 T cell subsets were comparable or better than historical controls. Two steroid-responsive episodes of skin-only aGVHD were observed and no cGVHD developed. Data on additional patients receiving cryopreserved MGTA-456 will be reported. Conclusions Treatment with MGTA-456 in patients with IMDs shows early, robust engraftment and immune reconstitution, features that are highly associated with improved clinical outcomes. Disease-specific outcomes up to one-year post-transplant in MPS I and cALD patients show crucial, durable stabilization in biochemical, MRI and clinical/neurodevelopmental assessments. In summary, the high CD34+ cell doses delivered by MGTA-456 shows compelling potential to rapidly and durably improve outcomes in IMD patients.

Introduction Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (Allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders. However, current conditioning regimens limit its use due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities. We are developing novel antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to provide the benefit of full-intensity conditioning to remove disease-causing cells while reducing the severity of treatment-related adverse events. These ADCs are designed to deliver agents specifically to CD45+ target cells as a sole conditioning agent or as the primary conditioning agent in a reduced intensity conditioning protocol for allo-HSCT. The aim of this study was to model this approach with a tool anti-mouse CD45 ADC to determine if targeted ADCs can be used to enable allo-HSCT in mice. Methods We developed a tool anti-mouse CD45 ADC engineered to have a short half-life (T1/2 = 1.7hr) to enable HSCT. The optimal dose of tool CD45-ADC was established in a congenic autologous mouse transplant model. Next, the tool CD45-ADC was evaluated alone or in combination with low dose (0.5 Gy) total body irradiation (TBI) or T cell-depleting anti-mouse antibodies (CD4 and CD8, 0.25 mg/kg IP) in a full mismatch allo-HSCT model (Balb/c donors (H-2d, CD45.1+) into C57Bl/6 recipients (H-2b, CD45.2+)). 9 Gy TBI served as the conventional conditioning positive control. Conditioned mice were transplanted with 2 × 107 whole bone marrow cells, and peripheral blood chimerism assessed over 16 weeks. Results A single 3 mg/kg dose of the tool CD45-ADC was an effective regimen in a congenic autologous mouse transplant model, resulting in full donor chimerism comparable to conditioning with 9 Gy TBI. In a full mismatch allo-HSCT model, a single dose of CD45-ADC enabled mixed myeloid chimerism out to 3 weeks as a single agent, but the chimerism was transient. In combination with low dose TBI or T cell depleting antibodies, the tool CD45-ADC enabled >90% peripheral donor chimerism by week 4 post-transplantation, which was maintained through week 16. Multilineage reconstitution of T-, B-, and myeloid cell compartments was observed (>90% donor chimerism) and was comparable to chimerism seen in the 9 Gy TBI positive control. Treatment with a non-targeting isotype ADC was not effective (Figure 1A, 1B). Conclusion A single dose of the tool CD45-ADC is fully myeloablative and enables complete chimerism in a full mismatch allo-HSCT model with low dose TBI or supplemental T cell depletion. Future experiments will examine the use of tool CD45-ADC conditioning in HSCT as a treatment in mouse autoimmune disease models. This targeted, readily translatable approach for safer conditioning could improve the risk-benefit profile for allogenic and haploidentical HSCT and may extend the curative potential of this therapeutic modality.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Auto-HSCT) with gene-modification represents a potential cure for multiple genetic diseases, but its broad curative potential, is limited because of morbidity/mortality from cytotoxic chemotherapy-based conditioning. To overcome these limitations, we developed antibody drug conjugates (ADC) targeting CD117 (C-KIT) to specifically deplete the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). To validate CD117 ADC-mediated depletion prior to HSCT, we developed an optimized non-human primate (NHP) tool anti-CD117 ADC and evaluated it in an auto-gene modified HSCT in a rhesus model. The CD117-ADC is potent on primary human and NHP CD34+ cells in vitro (Figure 1A). Humanized NSG mice treated with a single dose had full depletion of human HSPCs in the bone marrow, while maintaining peripheral immune cells. In rhesus a single administration was fully myeloablative (>99% HSPC depletion) and comparable to HSPC depletion observed following busulfan conditioning (6 mg/kg/day x4). There was no effect of the ADC on the peripheral and bone marrow lymphocytes and the ADC was well tolerated compared to busulfan where the animals had diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss. To facilitate use in HSCT, the CD117-ADC was engineered to have a fast clearance and the half-life was We next explored whether the tool CD117-ADC could enable auto gene modified HSCT in the rhesus model. Two rhesus NHP were mobilized with GCSF and plerixafor. The selected CD34+ cells were transduced with β-globin encoded lentivirus and cryopreserved. The tool CD117-ADC was dosed on day -6 and the CD34+ cells were thawed and infused on day 0. Bone marrow aspirates analyzed on the day of infusion (day 0) demonstrated >99% depletion of the HSPCs and maintenance of the bone marrow lymphocytes (Figure 1B). The primates engrafted neutrophils (day 8 and 10) and platelets (day 10 and 11), and the peripheral lymphocytes were maintained throughout the transplant (Figure 1C-D). The gene marking in the granulocytes is comparable to busulfan conditioned animals previously reported (Tisdale, Molecular Therapy 2019). Longer follow up and data from additional animals will be presented. In summary, we have developed a tool CD117 ADC that shows potent activity on NHP CD34+ cells, is fully myeloablative, has a favorable safety profile, spares the immune system and is cleared rapidly as designed. In a rhesus model of auto-gene modified HSCT, a single dose of the ADC enables engraftment of gene modified HSC. These proof of concept studies validate the use of CD117-ADC for targeted HSPC depletion prior to transplant and support its use as a new conditioning agent for auto-gene modified HSCT. This targeted approach for safer conditioning could improve the risk benefit profile for patients undergoing HSCT and enable more patients to benefit from these potentially curative therapies.

CRISPR–Cas9 screening allows genome-wide interrogation of gene function. Currently, to achieve the high and uniform Cas9 expression desirable for screening, one needs to engineer stable and clonal Cas9-expressing cells—an approach that is not applicable in human primary cells. Guide Swap permits genome-scale pooled CRISPR–Cas9 screening in human primary cells by exploiting the unexpected finding that editing by lentivirally delivered, targeted guide RNAs (gRNAs) occurs efficiently when Cas9 is introduced in complex with nontargeting gRNA. We validated Guide Swap in depletion and enrichment screens in CD4+ T cells. Next, we implemented Guide Swap in a model of ex vivo hematopoiesis, and identified known and previously unknown regulators of CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) expansion. We anticipate that this platform will be broadly applicable to other challenging cell types, and thus will enable discovery in previously inaccessible but biologically relevant human primary cell systems.

Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders. Current regimens for patient preparation, or conditioning, prior to BMT limit the use of this curative procedure due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities, including risks of organ toxicity, infertility and secondary malignancies. Targeted preparation using antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to mouse CD45 has previously been shown to be sufficient to enable bone marrow transplant (BMT) in syngeneic immune competent mice (Palchaudhuri et al. Nature Biotech 2016 34:738–745), and this approach to preparation has the potential to expand the utility of BMT if it can be successfully translated to patients. To further investigate the utility of this tool ADC in murine transplant models, we explored anti-CD45-saporin (CD45-SAP) in an allogeneic minor mismatch transplant model (Balb/c donor into DBA/2 recipients). The goal of the work was to identify the level of immune suppression, if any, that needs to be used in combination with CD45-SAP to enable high donor chimerism in the allogeneic setting. CD45-SAP (1.9 mg/kg, iv) was evaluated alone or in combination with additional immune modulating agents: clone 30F11 (25 mg/kg, IP), a naked anti-CD45 antibody that mimics ATG by relying on effector function to enable potent peripheral B- and T -cell depletion; pre-transplant Cytoxan (PreTCy, 200 mg/kg, IP), 2 Gy total body irradiation (TBI), and post-transplant Cytoxan (PTCy, 200 mg/kg, IP) to prevent graft versus host disease as well as block host versus graft rejection. 9 Gy TBI was used as the conventional conditioning positive control. Conditioned mice were transplanted with 2 × 107 whole bone marrow cells, and chimerism assessed over 12 weeks. CD45-SAP in combination with PTCy achieved comparable peripheral myeloid chimerism, a readout of stem cell engraftment, to 9 Gy TBI (>90%) at 8 weeks post-transplantation (Fig 1). The addition of 30F11 to the CD45-SAP/PTCy protocol had no effect on peripheral donor chimerism (59% vs 61%), suggesting additional lymphodepletion is not required. In contrast, the single agents alone, 2 Gy TBI in combination with 30F11 and PTCy resulted in These results indicate CD45-SAP in combination with PTCy is sufficient to enable high levels of donor chimerism in the minor mismatched setting without the need for additional immune suppression. CD45-SAP was more effective at conditioning than 2Gy TBI or PreTCy. Future experiments will investigate the CD45-SAP/PTCy protocol in haploidentical and fully mismatched allogeneic mouse models.

Background Patient access to well-matched cord blood (CB) containing high doses of stem cells remains a challenge for successful transplants. Low numbers of CD34+ cells in CB has resulted in delayed neutrophil recovery and increased risk of graft failure. MGTA-456 is a cell therapy that consists of CD34+ cells expanded in a 15-day culture in the presence of an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist (AHRa) and the CD34 depleted fraction obtained from the same CB unit. To date, 41 patients with hematological malignancies (n=36) and non-malignant diseases (n=5) have received MGTA-456 with a median follow-up of 2.5 years (range 0.1 to 5 years) and 75 days (80 to 203 days), respectively. All patients engrafted at a significantly faster rate as compared to similarly treated historical controls (p Results After the selected CD34+ cells are cultured, the expanded product is ∼35% CD34+ and 65% CD34- (Figure 1). The CD34+ cells can be further fractionated into CD34+CD133-CD90- cells (late progenitors), CD34+CD133+CD90- cells (early progenitors) and CD34+CD133+CD90+ (progenitors and stem cells) as shown in Figure 1. The CD34- cells within the expanded product contained erythroid (CD71+) and megakaryocyte progenitors (CD41+), CD33+, CD14+, CD15+, and CD11b+ myeloid cells and CD56+ cells. CD3+, CD8+, CD4+, CD16+, CD19+ as well as CD10+ cells were not present ( Conclusion In these studies, we demonstrate that the expanded CD34+ cell fraction of MGTA-456 contains large numbers of CD34+CD90+ HSC, which are critical for long term engraftment in NSG mice and correlated with rapid neutrophil recovery clinically.

The majority of bone marrow transplants (BMT) utilize granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized peripheral blood (mPB) as the source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). However, CD34+ harvest with G-CSF is variable and frequently unpredictable, often requires multiple apheresis sessions and is associated with significant side effects. Identification of a mobilizing regimen that consistently produces high numbers of engraftable CD34+ cells without the need for G-CSF would be ideal. We previously reported that MGTA-145, a CXCR2 agonist, when combined with the CXCR4 inhibitor, plerixafor, rapidly mobilizes CD34+ cells (Blood 2017 130:1920). In the current study, we evaluated the ability of MGTA-145 plus plerixafor to mobilize and effectively engraft HSCs in a pre-clinical nonhuman primate (NHP) stem cell transplantation animal model. Rhesus macaques were mobilized with a single dose of MGTA-145, plerixafor or MGTA-145 plus plerixafor versus a multi-dose regimen of G-CSF. Detailed immune profiling was performed at 0 through 24 hours post treatment. Within 4 hours of dosing, MGTA-145 plus plerixafor resulted in a 16-fold increase in the number of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs in the periphery (p=0.0003, n=11), which were previously shown to predict successful transplant as evidenced by rapid neutrophil and platelet recovery in an autologous NHP transplant model (Sci Trans Med 2017 9:1145). Next, NHPs mobilized with MGTA-145 plus plerixafor were leukapheresed and CD34+ cells enriched by positive selection. These cells were genetically modified and transplanted back into the same NHP conditioned with 1080 cGy (4 doses over 48 hours). A representative apheresis yield was 2.3 × 106 CD34+ and 0.9 × 106 HSCs per kg, and the final dose of gene-marked CD34+ and HSCs for transplant following 48 hours in culture was 1.7 × 106 and 0.8 × 106 per kg, respectively. GFP marking in vivo was consistent with the marking on the primitive HSCs prior to transplant. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment occurred at day 10 and 15 post-transplant, respectively (Figure 1). The study is ongoing, and additional follow-up data on all available animals will be presented. Co-administration of MGTA-145 plus plerixafor leads to both rapid and efficacious mobilization of CD34+ cells in the pre-clinical NHP large animal model. We found that MGTA-145 plus plerixafor mobilized grafts contain large numbers of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs, which are capable of long-term multilineage reconstitution, and preliminary results from autologous transplantation studies in NHPs demonstrate that MGTA-145 plus plerixafor mobilized HSCs lead to rapid neutrophil and platelet recovery. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that CD34+ cells mobilized with a novel regimen of MGTA-145 plus plerixafor can be collected via leukapheresis, subsequently gene modified and transplanted into NHPs, resulting in rapid engraftment.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) can prevent or ameliorate neurological symptoms arising from certain inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs). Donor-derived microglial cells limit progression of neurological disease following transplant. Cord blood (CB) is the preferred source for IMD patients lacking an HLA-matched, non-carrier related donor due to its wide availability and ability to tolerate less HLA match but is associated with delayed recovery and low engraftment due to small numbers of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). MGTA-456, produced by expanding a single cord blood unit with an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist, contains 100-fold higher number of CD34+CD90+ cells, a cell population enriched for hematopoietic stem cells (Wagner et al., Cell Stem Cell 2016). As microglia are thought to be derived from HSPCs, we hypothesized that the high number of HSPCs in MGTA-456 may lead to enhanced microglial engraftment. Relative to naive CB CD34+ cells, MGTA-456 led to an 8-fold increase in hematopoietic engraftment and a 10-fold increase in microglial engraftment (p These studies demonstrate that microglial engraftment is more rapid and robust in recipients of MGTA-456 due to the high number of NSG-engrafting CD34+CD90+ cells contained in MGTA-456 and may enable use of a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen. Mechanistically, the number of microglia cells in brains correlate with peripheral blood engraftment and are derived from CD34+CD90+ cells. A Phase 2 clinical trial in pediatric patients is ongoing to evaluate the potential of MGTA-456 as a cell therapy for transplant in IMD patients.

Background Mucopolysaccharidosis type IH (MPS1/Hurler Syndrome), cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD), metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) are fatal IMDs affecting the central nervous system treatable through allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In the absence of a non-carrier HLA matched related donor, cord blood (CB) is the preferred source of cells in IMDs due to rapid availability and flexibility in matching. However, prolonged neutropenia and high graft failure rates present a challenge, particularly with reduced intensity conditioning regimens. MGTA-456 is produced from a single CB unit using an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist in a 15-day expansion culture of CD34+ cells. In previous phase 1/2 studies, hematologic malignancy patients treated with myeloablative conditioning and MGTA-456, with median 324-fold CD34+ expansion, showed 100% engraftment with a 9 day reduction in time to neutrophil recovery. As higher CD34+ doses have been correlated with improved engraftment in IMD transplant patients, we hypothesize MGTA-456 may reduce duration of neutropenia and risk of graft failure and more rapidly correct the metabolic deficiency in IMD patients. Patients and Methods A Phase 2, open-label trial (NCT03406962) initiated in Feb 2018 is enrolling up to 12 patients Results Five patients have been treated per protocol to date (Figure 1). MGTA-456 contained a median 561-fold expansion of CD34+ cells after culture with a median infused CD34+ cell dose of 110 × 106 cells/kg and median total nucleated cell dose of 26.4 × 107 (Figure 2). The median duration of neutropenia was 1 day (range 0-9), in contrast to a median of 8 days for a historical cohort (Figure 3). Myeloid chimerism was ≥98% donor by day +14 in evaluable patients. Two patients developed autoimmune cytopenia, a known complication in IMD patients after HSCT, unrelated to MGTA-456. Time to discharge after transplant was a median of 19.5 days at time of reporting. Preliminary data from MPS1 patients demonstrated normalization of blood alpha-L-iduronidase enzyme activity and decreased urinary glycosoaminoglycan levels after transplant. Conclusions Treatment of IMD patients with MGTA-456 showed early and robust engraftment in all patients with marked reduction in days of neutropenia compared to a historical cohort. These preliminary data, in combination with the previous hematologic malignancy patients treated, suggest MGTA-456 substantially enhances engraftment and rate of neutrophil recovery.

The majority of bone marrow transplants (BMTs) utilize granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized peripheral blood (mPB) as the source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Mobilization with G-CSF requires a multi-day dosing regimen and fails to mobilize a large proportion of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs, the cell type responsible for hematopoietic engraftment. Moreover, up to 80% of allogenic recipients will experience significant side effects such as acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), even though G-CSF mPB contains a small and variable number of immunosuppressive monocytes (Vendramin et al., BBMT 2014). Identification of a mobilizing regimen that consistently and rapidly produces high numbers of HSCs and immunosuppressive monocytes without the need for G-CSF would be ideal. We previously reported that MGTA-145, a CXCR2 agonist, rapidly mobilizes HSCs when combined with the CXCR4 inhibitor, plerixafor (Blood 2017 130:1920). In the present study, detailed profiling was performed at 0 through 24 hours after mobilization of non-human primates (NHPs) with a single dose of MGTA-145, plerixafor, or MGTA-145 plus plerixafor versus a multi-dose, five-day regimen of G-CSF. MGTA-145 plus plerixafor led to a 19-fold increase in number of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs within four hours of dosing (p As the risk of GvHD remains a significant clinical problem in the allogenic setting, MGTA-145 plus plerixafor may rapidly mobilize an advantageous graft relative to the standard of care, G-CSF, since MGTA-145 plus plerixafor results in significantly higher numbers of both engraftable HSCs and highly immunosuppressive monocytes.

Current regimens for patient preparation, or conditioning, prior to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) limit the use of this curative procedure due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities. To address this, we developed a CD117-ADC to specifically deplete recipient HSPCs. CD117 is an ideal target for an ADC-based approach to patient preparation as it is selectively expressed on HSPCs. In addition, CD117 is frequently overexpressed on in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Thus, a CD117-ADC may enable curative treatment while potentially improving disease control prior to and following transplant. We developed a potent CD117 antibody conjugated to amanitin (AM), an RNA polymerase inhibitor, that depletes primary human CD34+ cells in vitro with an IC50 of 21pM (Fig. 1A). The ADC was designed to have a fast half-life, allowing the HSPC ablating ADC to clear prior to stem cell transplant. Humanized NSG mice treated with the anti-CD117-AM had >95% depletion of human HSPCs in bone marrow following a single dose of 0.1 mg/kg (Fig. 1B). The specificity of anti-CD117-AM was confirmed by the persistence of peripheral human lymphocytes, indicating the ability to maintain adaptive immunity. In addition, a single dose of anti-CD117-AM extended survival of NSG mice challenged with CD117+ patient derived xenografts (PDX), demonstrating potent anti-tumor effects. We treated NHPs with the cross-reactive anti-CD117-AM to determine if the ADC could deplete HSPCs in immune-competent animals. Dose-dependent decreases in phenotypic HSPCs and colony-forming units (CFUs) were observed in the bone marrow 7 days after dosing, with >95% HSPC depletion after a single dose of 0.3 mg/kg (Fig. 1C, 1D). Depletion was target- and AM-dependent, as the antibody alone and isotype-AM had no effect. In the periphery a transient decrease in reticulocytes was observed at day 4 with a neutrophil nadir at day 18. WBC and lymphocytes were within normal range throughout. Transient off-target effects consisted of reversible thrombocytopenia (Day 4-8) and reversible and mild liver enzyme levels (Day 4-10). Fractionated dosing achieved similar efficacy with reduced off-target effects. As expected, the fast half-life anti-CD117-AM was rapidly cleared (t1/215-18 h), providing appropriate pharmacokinetics for BMT. In summary, anti-CD117-AM can selectively deplete HSPCs in humanized NSG mice and NHP. In addition, the ADC exhibited potent anti-tumor activity in AML PDX models. This strategy could preserve the adaptive immune system with delayed onset of neutrophil nadir, potentially shortening the period of neutropenia during BMT. Targeted non-genotoxic conditioning with ADCs could provide a significant improvement to current approaches to patient preparation with an acceptable safety profile prior to BMT and gene therapies.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Auto-HSCT) with gene-modification techniques represents a potential cure for multiple genetic blood diseases. Despite its broad curative potential, auto-gene modified HSCT is currently limited due to morbidity/mortality from cytotoxic chemotherapy-based conditioning, including risks of secondary malignancies, organ toxicity, and infertility. To overcome these limitations, we have developed antibody drug conjugates (ADC) targeting CD117 (C-KIT) to specifically deplete the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) prior to auto-gene modified HSCT. We have previously shown that the anti-CD117 ADC is highly effective at killing human CD117+ cells in vitro and in vivo (Pearse et al., Blood 2018 132:3314). To validate CD117 as an appropriate antigen for targeted ADC-mediated depletion prior to HSCT, we developed an optimized non-human primate (NHP) tool anti-CD117 ADC and evaluated it in an auto-gene modified HSCT in the rhesus macaque model. The tool CD117-ADC is potent on primary human and NHP CD34+ cells in vitro with EC50 of 0.2 and 0.09 pM respectively (Figure 1A). Humanized NSG mice treated with the tool CD117-ADC had full depletion of human HSPCs in the bone marrow 21 days after a single administration of the ADC, while maintaining the peripheral immune cells. We next tested the efficacy and safety of the tool CD117-ADC in NHPs. A single administration of the tool CD117-ADC was fully myeloablative (>99% HSPC depletion) and comparable to HSPC depletion observed following busulfan conditioning (6 mg/kg, once daily for 4 consecutive days). There was no effect on the peripheral and bone marrow lymphocytes and the ADC was well tolerated. To facilitate the use in HSCT, the tool CD117-ADC was engineered to have a fast clearance and in this study the half-life was Based on these encouraging results, we explored whether the tool CD117-ADC could enable engraftment of autologous gene modified hematopoietic stem cells in the rhesus macaque model. A single rhesus macaque was mobilized with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF, 20 mcg/kg/day x 5) and plerixafor (1 mg/kg on day 5 of G-CSF) prior to apheresis. The isolated CD34+ cells were transduced with a lentivirus encoding the β-globin gene and cryopreserved. The tool CD117-ADC was dosed on day -6 and the cryopreserved gene modified cells were thawed and infused (3.3 x 106 CD34+ cells/kg) on day 0. A bone marrow aspirate analyzed on the day of infusion (day 0) demonstrated >99% depletion of the HSPCs and preserved of the bone marrow lymphocytes (Figure 1B). The primate engrafted neutrophils and platelets on day 8 and 10 respectively, and the peripheral lymphocytes were maintained throughout the transplant (Figure 1C). The gene marking in the granulocytes was detectable at day 9, and additional follow up and data from additional animals will be presented. In summary, we have developed a tool CD117 ADC that shows potent activity on NHP CD34+ cells. This optimized CD117-ADC is fully myeloablative with a single dose in NHPs, has a favorable safety profile, spares the immune system and is cleared rapidly as designed. In a rhesus model of autologous gene modified HSCT, a single dose of the ADC enables engraftment of auto-gene modified HSC. These proof of concept studies validate the use of CD117-ADC for targeted HSPC depletion prior to transplant and support its use as a new conditioning agent for autologous gene modified HSCT. This targeted approach for safer conditioning could improve the risk benefit profile for patients undergoing stem cell transplant and enable more patients to benefit from these potentially curative therapies. Disclosures Pearse: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. McDonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Panwar:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kien:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Latimer:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Dushime:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Palchaudhuri:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Li:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sawant:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McDonagh:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background . Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a promising approach to halt disease progression and prevent or ameliorate neurological symptoms arising from select inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs). Donor-derived cells, including microglia, limit disease progression post-HSCT via production of normal enzyme in a process called cross-correction. A standard cell dose used in HSCT is sub-optimal, resulting in delayed hematopoietic recovery and slower correction of central nervous system (CNS) defects (Lund et al BBMT 2019). To address these limitations, we developed MGTA-456, a cell therapy that contains large numbers of CD34+ cells and has led to accelerated neutrophil recovery and 100% engraftment post-HSCT in patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases (Wagner et al Blood 2017; Orchard et al AAN 2019). We previously showed that MGTA-456 leads to faster hematopoietic and microglia recovery in the brains of NSG mice (Goncalves et al AAN 2019); however, the impact of cell dose on disease outcomes and mechanism of cross-correction are unknown. Here, we show that faster and greater hematopoietic and microglia recovery leads to rapid and complete resolution of disease endpoints in a mouse model of mucopolysaccharidosis I (Hurler syndrome) and that, mechanistically, donor engraftment in the brain is required for disease cross-correction. Results . To determine whether cell dose impacts microglial engraftment, CD45.2 mice were conditioned with a clinically-relevant, myeloablative dose of busulfan and transplanted with increasing doses of CD45.1 bone marrow cells, beginning with 0.3x106 cells/mouse (2x106 cells/kg) based on allometric scaling to model high dose cell therapies. A dose-dependent increase in microglia was observed as early as 1 week post-HSCT, where 10x106 cells led to a 26-fold higher number of donor microglia compared to 0.3x106 cells (p To evaluate the impact of cell dose on disease outcomes, we transplanted a low (0.3x106) or high (10x106) cell dose of wild-type bone marrow cells into busulfan-conditioned Idua-/- mice, a model of Hurler syndrome. At 1 month post-HSCT, peripheral donor myeloid chimerism was >75% and >99% for 0.3x106 and 10x106 cells, respectively. In the brain, transplant of 10x106 cells led to significantly higher donor microglial engraftment versus 0.3x106 cells (Figure A). Notably, high cell dose resulted in significantly higher levels of IDUA enzyme in the brain (Figure B), reduced levels of β-hexosaminidase and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) substrate, and normalization of behavioral outcomes, including rotarod performance, to wild type levels (Figure C). In peripheral tissues, transplant of 10x106 cells, but not 0.3x106 cells, led to a reduction of GAGs to wild type levels as early as 1 week post-HSCT (p To determine if donor engraftment in the brain is required for cross-correction, we transplanted 10x106 cells into mice conditioned with a myeloablative dose of treosulfan, which is not sufficient to condition the brain for microglia engraftment. Treosulfan conditioning, followed by high dose HSCT, led to >99% donor myeloid chimerism in the periphery but neither increased microglial levels nor corrected CNS defects (Figures A-C), suggesting that donor engraftment in the brain is required for disease modification. Long-term outcomes and impact on skeletal phenotype in this model will also be presented. Conclusions . We demonstrate that high dose HSCT leads to robust microglia engraftment in the brain and improved disease endpoints. These data suggest that strategies to increase cell dose, such as MGTA-456, may accelerate resolution of neurologic disease in patients with IMDs. Similar approaches, possibly coupled with gene modification technologies, could be used to improve microglial function in other neurodegenerative diseases where defective microglia have been implicated. Disclosures Goncalves: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Resetting the immune system through autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (autoHSCT) is a highly effective treatment in selected patients with autoimmune diseases. AutoHSCT can induce long-term remission (up to 15 years) with 70-80% progression free survival in patients with relapsed refractory and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (Muraro 2017) that is superior to standard of care agents in a randomized study (Burt 2019). Likewise, use of autoHSCT in scleroderma patients achieved superior outcomes in two randomized studies (Tyndall 2014, Sullivan 2018). These impressive results are achieved by a combination of the eradication of autoreactive immune effector cells and re-establishment of a self-tolerant immune system, i.e., immune system reset. However, only a small fraction of eligible patients undergo autoHSCT, in part due to toxicity associated with current conditioning protocols. To address these issues, we are developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) that selectively target CD45 to eradicate autoimmune cells and enable autoHSCT as a potential one-time curative treatment for patients with autoimmune disease. To model this approach in mice, we generated an anti-mouse CD45 ADC that was evaluated for the ability to condition recipients in a murine congenic transplant model following a single myeloablative dose. This ADC was further evaluated for its ability to eliminate pathogenic host-reactive cells and enable immune reset in recipients in multiple murine models of autoimmune disease, including MOG-induced experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE), proteoglycan-induced arthritis (PGIA), and sclerodermatous graft-vs-host disease (scGVHD). A single-dose of tool anti-mouse CD45-ADC at 3 mg/kg achieved full myeloablation in recipient mice (>99% depletion of LT-HSCs (Lin-Kit+Sca-1+CD150+CD48-). Transplanted mice achieved full engraftment with congenic BMT (>90% chimerism at 16 weeks). In EAE, conditioning with a non-myeloablative dose of the CD45-ADC followed by congenic transplant prior to disease onset significantly delayed disease onset and reduced disease severity (onset at 21 days, peak disease score 2.1 for with 1 mg/kg CD45-ADC; onset at 42 days, peak disease score 0.75 for 3 mg/kg CD45-ADC + BMT; onset at 11 days with peak disease score 3.1 for vehicle-treated)[Figure 1]. In active EAE, treatment with 3 mg/kg of CD45-ADC on day 10 or 13 followed by congenic transplant halted progression of disease activity (no increase from disease score at time of treatment; peak disease scores of 0.75 and 2.3, respectively). The effect observed with CD45-ADC treatment at day 13 with congenic transplant was comparable to that achieved by treatment with a clinically validated standard of care, FTY-720 (approved S1P1 antagonist equivalent to Gilenya) at day 13 which also halted disease at a peak score of 2.3. Disease control in this study compared favorably to a prior study where mice were treated with 9 Gy TBI + congenic BMT at day 9. These data show that CD45-ADC conditioning followed by congenic transplant is effective at immune reset and shows comparable efficacy to clinically validated therapies. Evaluation of this ADC in additional autoimmune models of arthritis and scleroderma are ongoing and will be presented. To translate these encouraging pre-clinical data, we generated novel anti-human CD45 ADCs that cross react with nonhuman primates (NHP) and evaluated these for the ability to deplete hematopoietic and immune cells in vitro and in vivo in humanized NSG (hNSG) mice. The CD45-ADC showed efficient killing of human BM CD34+ (EC50 2.44 x 10-9 M) and peripheral CD3+ cells from normal donor (EC50 7.6 x10-10 M) and MS patients (EC50 1.5 x 10-10 M). In vivo in hNSG, single doses of the CD45-ADCs were well-tolerated and led to substantial (>95%) depletion of human cells. In NHPs, single doses of CD45-ADCs were well tolerated and achieved >90% peripheral lymphocyte depletion and >80% depletion of HSCs. Dose escalation studies are continuing and will be reported. These results suggest that targeted immune depletion with a single treatment of CD45-ADC may be sufficient for auto-HSCT and allow immune reset and re-establishment of immune tolerance. Targeted CD45-ADCs may represent a safer and better tolerated approach for conditioning patients prior to immune reset through autoHSCT and may significantly reduce the side effects associated with current conditioning. Disclosures Gillard: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Lamothe:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Mikse:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McDonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Palchaudhuri:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Bhat:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Bhattarai:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sawant:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Pearse:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Mcdonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background. HSC dose and HLA match are independent risk factors that impact non-relapse mortality in children and adults undergoing umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplant for acute leukemia (Eapen et al. Blood 2014 123:133-140). Low number of CD34+ HSCs results in prolonged periods of cytopenia and higher risk of graft failure. To reduce these risks, a minimum cell dose threshold, e.g. 3.0 x 107 total nucleated cells (TNC)/kilogram (kg), has generally been required in CBU selection. While beneficial in terms of hematopoietic recovery, this cell dose threshold markedly limits the number of available cord blood units (CBUs) particularly for larger adolescent and adult recipients, thus reducing the probability of identifying a 7-8/8 HLA-matched graft. In addition, a second UCB unit is often required for adults as a single unit may not meet the cell dose threshold. MGTA-456 is an expanded CD34+ HSC product utilizing an AHR antagonist in the presence of SCF, Flt-3L, IL-6 and TPO. In previous studies with fresh MGTA-456, 36 patients with hematologic malignancies demonstrated rapid neutrophil recovery and sustained engraftment in all patients. The aims of this study (NCT03674411) were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cryopreserved MGTA-456 as well as the effectiveness of lowering the minimum cell dose threshold of the selected CBU from 3.0 x 107 to 1.0 x 107 TNC/kg to improve donor-recipient HLA match. Patients and Methods: Ten patients with high-risk hematologic malignancy were enrolled with 9 transplanted to date. Conditioning consisted of cyclophosphamide 120 mg/kg, fludarabine 75 mg/m2 and total body irradiation 1320 cGy (total doses) with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil as immunoprophylaxis. G-CSF was initiated on the day after infusion and continued until the neutrophil count exceeded 2500/uL for 3 consecutive days. Results: Cryopreserved MGTA-456 contained a median of 1.9 x 109 CD34+ cells (range, 1.1-6.2) after expansion culture (a 491-fold expansion of CD34+ cells [range, 219-672]). As shown in Table 1, neutrophil recovery occurred in 100% of patients (with one pending after recent transplant) at a median of 15 days (range, 0-31), similar to recipients of fresh MGTA-456 in a prior study (median 14 days, range 7-32) and significantly faster than in recipients of unmodified UCB (median 25 days). Platelet recovery (>20,000/uL for 7 days without transfusion) was also comparable in recipients of cryopreserved and fresh MGTA-456 (median 42 [range 27-53] vs 45 days [range 28-54], respectively), and again faster relative to recipients of unmodified CBUs (median 64 days). In line with preclinical experiments in NSG murine recipients that demonstrates all engrafting cells are retained in the CD34+CD90+ subpopulation, CD34+CD90+ content strongly correlated with speed of neutrophil recovery in recipients of MGTA-456 (cryopreserved and fresh) as shown in Figure 1. As expected, lowering the cell dose requirement from 3.0 x 107 to 1.0 x 107 TNC/kg for UCB unit selection prior to expansion culture improved HLA match and/or eliminated the need for double UCB transplant in 5 of 6 adults (Table 1). As a result, all but one patient received an 8/8 (n=5) and 7/8 (n=4) HLA matched UCB graft, potentially contributing to the low incidence of acute GVHD with only one patient of the 7 out >42 days having grade 2 acute GVHD. This low rate of GVHD compares favorably to that observed in the prior study of fresh MGTA-456. With a follow-up of 19-187 days (median 89), all patients are alive. Conclusion: Transplantation of cryopreserved MGTA-456 resulted in complete engraftment and rapid recovery with speed of neutrophil recovery correlating with the CD34+CD90+ cell dose. Based on the marked expansion that is now possible, units with fewer cells can now be considered, increasing the probability of finding a better HLA matched unit, particularly for adults. Availability of MGTA-456 could reduce the barriers associated with cell dose and poor HLA match previously limiting the successful use of UCB in transplantation. Disclosures Stefanski: Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Brunstein:Magenta: Research Funding; Gamida: Research Funding; Astex: Research Funding. McKenna:Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York: Consultancy; CIBMTR BMT CTN (NIH): Other: Medical Monitor; National Eye Institute (NIH): Other: DSMB (2); Magenta Therapeutics: Research Funding; Gamida: Research Funding; NMDP: Other: Donor and Patient Safety Monitoring Advisory Group; Fate Therapeutics: Research Funding; Intima: Patents & Royalties: Royalities, Research Funding. Miller:Dr. Reddys Laboratory: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Moderna: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Consultancy, Research Funding; GT BioPharma: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; CytoSen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; OnKImmune: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Blazar:KidsFirst Fund: Research Funding; Childrens' Cancer Research Fund: Research Funding; Abbvie Inc: Research Funding; Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: Research Funding; Kamon Pharmaceuticals, Inc: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Magenta Therapeutics and BlueRock Therapeuetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Five Prime Therapeutics Inc: Co-Founder, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc.: Research Funding; RXi Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Tmunity: Other: Co-Founder; BlueRock Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Raffel:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Davis:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wagner:Rocket Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Magenta: Consultancy, Research Funding; BlueRock: Research Funding; Gadeta: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Research Funding.

Background Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is the standard of care for mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). G-CSF requires 4-7 days of injections and often multiple aphereses to acquire sufficient CD34+ cells for transplant. The number of CD34+ HSCs mobilized can be variable and patients who fail to mobilize enough CD34+ cells are treated with the combination of G-CSF plus plerixafor. G-CSF use is associated with bone pain, nausea, headaches, fatigue, rare episodes of splenic rupture, and is contraindicated for patients with autoimmune and sickle cell disease. MGTA-145 (GroβT) is a CXCR2 agonist. MGTA-145, in combination with plerixafor, a CXCR4 inhibitor, has the potential to rapidly and reliably mobilize robust numbers of HSCs with a single dose and same-day apheresis for transplant that is free from G-CSF. MGTA-145 plus plerixafor work synergistically to rapidly mobilize HSCs in both mice and non-human primates (Hoggatt, Cell 2018; Goncalves, Blood 2018). Based on these data, Magenta initiated a Phase 1 dose-escalating study to evaluate the safety, PK and PD of MGTA-145 as a single agent and in combination with plerixafor. Methods This study consists of four parts. In Part A, healthy volunteers were dosed with MGTA-145 (0.0075 - 0.3 mg/kg) or placebo. In Part B, MGTA-145 dose levels from Part A were selected for use in combination with a clinically approved dose of plerixafor. In Part C, a single dose MGTA-145 plus plerixafor will be administered on day 1 and day 2. In Part D, MGTA-145 plus plerixafor will be administered followed by apheresis. Results MGTA-145 monotherapy was well tolerated in all subjects dosed (Table 1) with no significant adverse events. Some subjects experienced mild (Grade 1) transient lower back pain that dissipated within minutes. In the ongoing study, the combination of MGTA-145 with plerixafor was well tolerated, with some donors experiencing Grade 1 and 2 gastrointestinal adverse events commonly observed with plerixafor alone. Pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure and maximum plasma concentrations increased dose proportionally and were not affected by plerixafor (Fig 1A). Monotherapy of MGTA-145 resulted in an immediate increase in neutrophils (Fig 1B) and release of plasma MMP-9 (Fig 1C). Neutrophil mobilization plateaued within 1-hour post MGTA-145 at doses greater than 0.03 mg/kg. This plateau was followed by a rebound of neutrophil mobilization which correlated with re-expression of CXCR2 and presence of MGTA-145 at pharmacologically active levels. Markers of neutrophil activation were relatively unchanged ( To date, the combination of MGTA-145 plus plerixafor mobilized >20/µl CD34s in 92% (11/12) subjects compared to 50% (2/4) subjects receiving plerixafor alone. Preliminary data show that there was a significant increase in fold change relative to baseline in CD34+ cells (27x vs 13x) and phenotypic CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs (38x vs 22x) mobilized by MGTA-145 with plerixafor. Mobilized CD34+ cells were detectable at 15 minutes with peak mobilization shifted 2 - 4 hours earlier for the combination vs plerixafor alone (4 - 6h vs 8 - 12h). Detailed results of single dose administration of MGTA-145 and plerixafor given on one day as well as also on two sequential days will be presented along with fully characterized graft analysis post apheresis from subjects given MGTA-145 and plerixafor. Conclusions MGTA-145 is safe and well tolerated, as a monotherapy and in combination with plerixafor and induced rapid and robust mobilization of significant numbers of HSCs with a single dose in all subjects to date. Kinetics of CD34+ cell mobilization for the combination was immediate (4x increase vs no change for plerixafor alone @ 15 min) suggesting the mechanism of action of MGTA-145 plus plerixafor is different from plerixafor alone. Preliminary data demonstrate that MGTA-145 when combined with plerixafor results in a significant increase in CD34+ fold change relative to plerixafor alone. Magenta Therapeutics intends to develop MGTA-145 as a first line mobilization product for blood cancers, autoimmune and genetic diseases and plans a Phase 2 study in multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020. Disclosures DiPersio: Magenta Therapeutics: Equity Ownership; NeoImmune Tech: Research Funding; Cellworks Group, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; RiverVest Venture Partners Arch Oncology: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; WUGEN: Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Macrogenics: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bioline Rx: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy; Amphivena Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Hoggatt:Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Research Funding. Devine:Kiadis Pharma: Other: Protocol development (via institution); Bristol Myers: Other: Grant for monitoring support & travel support; Magenta Therapeutics: Other: Travel support for advisory board; My employer (National Marrow Donor Program) has equity interest in Magenta. Biernat:Medpace, Inc.: Employment. Howell:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Schmelmer:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Neale:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Goncalves:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Raffel:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Falahee:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Morrow:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Davis:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership.

Introduction Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders. Current regimens for patient preparation, or conditioning, prior to BMT limit the use of this curative procedure due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities, including risks of organ toxicity, infertility and secondary malignancies. To safely condition patients for BMT, we are developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting CD45, a target expressed throughout the hematopoietic system to specifically deplete both hematopoietic stem cell (HSCs) and immune cells prior to transplant. Results We created anti-CD45 ADCs by conjugating antibodies to alpha-amanitin payload (an RNA polymerase II inhibitor). A resulting anti-CD45 amanitin ADC (CD45-AM) exhibited potent in vitro killing of primary human bone marrow CD34+CD90+ HSCs (IC50 67 pM, Figure 1A) and PBMC immune cells (IC50 55 pM, Figure 1B). Next, we explored the CD45-AM ADC in vivo in humanized NSG mice. A single dose of 3 mg/kg CD45-AM enabled >95% depletion of human CD34+ cells in the bone marrow (Figure 1C) and >95% depletion of human B-, T- and myeloid cells in the periphery and bone marrow. Control non-targeting isotype matched-ADCs and anti-CD45 antibody not bearing a toxin had minimal effect on either HSC or immune cells. As CD45 is highly expressed on many leukemia and lymphomas, we also assessed the leukemia-depleting activity of CD45-AM in an ALL model and 3 PDX-AML models. A single dose of 1 mg/kg CD45-AM more than doubled the median survival in all 4 models (p values As BMT will require fast clearing ADCs to avoid depleting the incoming graft, we engineered a fast half-life CD45-AM variant with a half-life of 8-15 hours in mice, and 9 hours in cynomolgus monkeys. Dose escalation of the cross-reactive fast half-life CD45-AM in cynomolgus monkeys showed dose-dependent peripheral lymphocyte depletion. A single dose of 1 mg/kg was well tolerated and enabled >95% depletion of HSCs (CD34+CD90+CD45RA- cells) and >80% lymphocyte depletion in the marrow 14 days post-administration (Figure 1D). Conclusion Targeting CD45 with an amanitin ADC resulted in potent in vitro and in vivo human HSC and immune cell depletion. The anti-CD45 amanitin ADC significantly reduced disease burden in multiple leukemia models. Preliminary assessment of a fast half-life ADC in cynomolgus monkeys showed efficient HSC and immune cell depletion in the marrow. An alpha-amanitin ADC targeted to CD45 may i) be non-genotoxic; ii) avoid bystander toxicity, due to amanitin's poor cell permeability as a free toxin; and iii) kill cycling and non-cycling cells, the latter being necessary for effective HSC and immune cell depletion. Together, these properties may enable safer targeted conditioning and expand the use of BMT in malignant and non-malignant conditions.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative approach in patients with refractory or high-risk hematologic malignancies, like acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Current regimens for patient preparation, or conditioning, prior to BMT limit the use of this procedure due to regimen-related mortality and morbidities. As a result, many eligible patients do not consider transplant and only 2/3 those transplanted are able to tolerate a reduced intensity conditioning regimen, which is associated with increased relapse (Scott, J Clin Onc 2017). Thus, safer and more effective conditioning agents with improved disease control are urgently needed. We developed two novel antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) conjugated to amanitin (AM) targeting CD117 (C-KIT, Pearse 2018), which is expressed on hematopoietic stem, progenitor, AML and MDS cells in >60% of patients (Ludwig, Haematologica 1997). CD45 (Palchaudhuri 2018) is expressed on all lympho-hematopoietic cells and hematologic malignancies except multiple myeloma. We aim to design ADC-based conditioning agents with the dual benefit of specifically depleting primary human hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs) to enable BMT while reducing disease burden in leukemia models. ADCs were tested in xenograft murine models inoculated with human AML cells from immortalized cell lines (Kasumi-1, CD117 expressing leukemia; REH-Luc, CD45 expressing AML), and three AML patient-derived xenografts (PDX) expressing both CD117 and CD45 (2 of 3 are from patients that relapsed post allogeneic BMT). In the Kasumi model, a single dose of 0.3 mg/kg anti-CD117-AM on day 7 or 42 after inoculation markedly increased survival (median >240 days) compared to vehicle (median 76 days) or unconjugated anti-CD117 antibody (median 86.5 days) (n=6-8/group, p Anti-CD117-AM and anti-CD45-AM are potent anti-leukemia agents based on these data in humanized murine models with established AML. Together with prior reports on the potency of anti-CD117-AM and anti-CD45-AM as conditioning agents, these non-genotoxic ADCs may be useful in reducing disease burden in patients and in recipients of reduced-dose conditioning who are at high risk of disease relapse.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IH (Hurler Syndrome), metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD) are progressive diseases treatable with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). While cord blood is a common stem cell source, it may be associated with prolonged neutropenia and graft failure. MGTA-456 is a cell therapy produced from a single CB unit using an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist in a 15-day expansion culture of CD34+cells. In previous studies, patients with hematologic malignancies demonstrated a median 324-fold expansion of CD34+cells, and the time to neutrophil recovery was significantly reduced by a median of 9 days compared to historical controls. As higher CD34+doses have been correlated with improved engraftment and outcomes in inherited metabolic disease patients, we initiated a Phase 2, open-label trial to enroll up to 12 patients with a diagnosis of MPS1, cALD, MLD, and GLD utilizing CB units matched at ≥6 of 8 HLA loci using allele-based typing. The HSCT regimen consists of anti-thymocyte globulin (days -9 to -6), fludarabine (days -5 to -2) and busulfan (days -5 to -2), with cyclosporin and methylprednisolone as graft vs. host disease prophylaxis. In four patients treated thus far, a marked expansion of CD34+cells (median 482-fold) was observed. Two patients had no days of neutropenia and 2 patients had 1 and 4 days respectively, in contrast to a mean of 7.8 days in a historical Minnesota cohort (N=27) with identical conditioning. Donor myeloid chimerism (≥98%) was achieved by day +14 in all patients. One patient developed autoimmune cytopenia, a known complication unrelated to MSGT 456, resulting in death at day +143. Based on these promising data, MGTA-456 has potential to improve hematopoietic cell recovery and transplant-related outcomes in patients undergoing HSCT for patients with Inherited metabolic disorders.

SummaryClinical hematopoietic transplantation outcomes are strongly correlated with the numbers of cells infused. Anticipated novel therapeutic implementations of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their derivatives further increase interest in strategies to expand HSCs ex vivo. A fundamental limitation in all HSC-driven culture systems is the rapid generation of differentiating cells and their secreted inhibitory feedback signals. Herein we describe an integrated computational and experimental strategy that enables a tunable reduction in the global levels and impact of paracrine signaling factors in an automated closed-system process by employing a controlled fed-batch media dilution approach. Application of this system to human cord blood cells yielded a rapid (12-day) 11-fold increase of HSCs with self-renewing, multilineage repopulating ability. These results highlight the marked improvements that control of feedback signaling can offer primary stem cell culture and demonstrate a clinically relevant rapid and relatively low culture volume strategy for ex vivo HSC expansion.

Potential applications of stem cells in medicine range from their inclusion in disease modeling and drug discovery to cell transplantation and regenerative therapies. However, before this promise can be realized several obstacles must be overcome, including the control of stem cell differentiation, allogeneic rejection and limited cell availability. This will require an improved understanding of the mechanisms that govern stem cell potential and the development of robust methods to efficiently control their fate. Recently, a number of small molecules have been identified that can be used both in vitro and in vivo as tools to expand stem cells, direct their differentiation, or reprogram somatic cells to a more naive state. These molecules have provided a wealth of insights into the signaling and epigenetic mechanisms that regulate stem cell biology, and are already beginning to contribute to the development of effective treatments for tissue repair and regeneration.

Background: Genotoxic conditioning prior to allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT) limits the use of these potentially curative treatments due to risks of regimen-related morbidities and mortality, including risks of organ toxicity, infertility, and secondary malignancies. CD117, which is specifically expressed on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and progenitors is rapidly internalized and is an ideal target for an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) based approach to conditioning. We have previously shown that a single dose of an anti-CD117 ADC depleted >95% of bone marrow HSCs in a humanized mouse model and reduced disease burden while extending survival in an AML tumor model (Hartigan et al., Blood 2017 130:1894). The aim of this translational study was to develop a potent anti-CD117 ADC highly effective in eliminating host HSCs with a short half-life and minimal adverse side effects in a non-human primate (NHP) model. Methods: Three different DNA-damaging cytotoxic payloads and amanitin (AM) were site specifically conjugated to an anti-CD117 antibody. The ADCs were titrated and evaluated for in vitro cytotoxicity using human bone marrow CD34+ cells. The ADCs were administered in ascending doses to humanized NSG mice. HSC depletion and immunophenotype of the human cells in the peripheral blood was determined by flow cytometry. For amanitin conjugates, NHP HSC depletion was evaluated in male cynomolgus monkeys in single ascending doses (3/group). HSC content in the bone marrow was monitored by flow cytometry and colony-forming unit (CFU) analysis on day 7 or 14 and 56 post dosing. Hematology and clinical chemistries were evaluated throughout the two-month study. Results: Of the toxins evaluated, only anti-CD117 conjugated with the RNA polymerase II inhibitor amanitin resulted in >90% depletion of human HSCs in humanized NSG mice at 0.3 mg/kg. The AM-conjugates also demonstrated a broad therapeutic window in this model (therapeutic index of >120). As a proof-of-concept for the depletion of HSCs in large animals, a single i.v. dose escalation study was performed with the cross-reactive anti-CD117-AM in NHP. On-target, dose-dependent decreases in phenotypic HSCs and CFUs were observed in the bone marrow at day 7 post anti-CD117-AM dosing with >95% HSC depletion observed with a single dose of 0.3 mg/kg (Fig. 1). In the periphery, a dose-dependent transient decrease in reticulocytes was observed at day 4 with a neutrophil and monocyte nadir at day 18. The depth and duration of the depletion was also dose-dependent. The anti-CD117-AM induced depletion was on target and amanitin dependent as the unconjugated antibody and isotype-AM had no effect. Notably, white blood cell and lymphocyte counts were stable through day 56, demonstrating that this strategy will spare the adaptive immune system. Thrombocytopenia occurred 4-8 days post infusion and was dose-dependent, transient and reversible. This also occurred with the isotype-AM, suggesting the effect was off-target. Because the half-life of the anti-CD117-AM was 5 days, a second dose escalation study with anti-CD117-AM engineered to have a short half-life (~18 h) was performed in NHPs. The short half-life anti-CD117-AM demonstrated similar potency on all cell parameters at 0.3 mg/kg and was well tolerated at the effective dose. As expected, the short half-life anti-CD117-AM was rapidly cleared with a half-life of 15-18 h. In both studies, a transient dose dependent elevation of liver enzymes was observed in groups treated with the highest doses of isotype-AM, anti-CD117-AM, and the short half-life anti-CD117-AM. Conclusions: Anti-CD117-AM exhibited potent elimination of NHP HSCs and progenitors in vivo. The potency of short half-life anti-CD117-AM was comparable, providing a model for target cell depletion and rapid clearance prior to BMT. Both ADCs were well tolerated at the efficacious doses. This strategy preserves the adaptive immune system with delayed onset of neutrophil nadir (18 days), potentially shortening the period of neutropenia. Targeted depletion of hematopoietic cell subtypes with limited off-target effects could provide a significant improvement in standard-of-care approaches to patient preparation prior to HSC transplant. Disclosures Pearse: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. McDonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Panwar:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McShea:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kien:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Dushime:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Adams:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Palchaudhuri:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties; Harvard University: Patents & Royalties. Li:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kallen:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sawant:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McDonagh:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background. The majority of bone marrow transplants (BMTs) are performed with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized peripheral blood (mPB) as the source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for patients. Up to 80% of mPB allogeneic recipients, however, will experience graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Despite higher levels of CD3+ T cells in mPB grafts compared to BM, the level of acute GvHD observed following transplant of HLA-matched mPB is comparable to HLA-matched BM. One explanation is that G-CSF mobilized grafts contain myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) possessing potent immunosuppressive properties capable of inhibiting T cell proliferation in vitro. The percentage of MDSCs is variable in grafts mobilized with G-CSF and clinical data suggest that patients transplanted with mPB grafts that contain higher numbers of MDSCs may have better outcomes including lower rates of acute GvHD (Vendramin et al., BBMT 2014). Identification of a mobilizing regimen that consistently produces high numbers of HSCs and MDSCs may be preferred. We recently reported that MGTA-145 (GroβT), a CXCR2 agonist, when combined with the CXCR4 inhibitor, plerixafor, robustly mobilizes HSCs (Blood 2017 130:1920). In this study, non-human primates (NHPs) were mobilized with a single dose of MGTA-145, plerixafor, or MGTA-145/plerixafor versus a multi-dose regimen of G-CSF, and mPB was harvested to allow detailed immune profiling at 0 through 24 hours. We observed a significant and rapid increase in number of HSCs and CD34dim monocytes with potent in vitro and in vivo immunosuppressive properties. Results. MGTA-145/plerixafor consistently produced a 16-fold increase in number of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- HSCs within four hours of dosing (p=0.0003, n=11). Profiling of graft subsets from these primates also showed a 10-fold increase over baseline in the number of CD34dim monocytes at 4 hours post treatment (p To assess whether these immunosuppressive monocytes may prevent GvHD, we developed a xenograft GvHD model in NSG mice. MGTA-145/plerixafor mPB (6 x 106 PBMCs) containing a high percentage of CD34dim monocytes were injected into sublethally irradiated NSG mice. This was compared to unmobilized primate PBMCs (6 x 106 PBMCs) containing relatively low numbers of CD34dim cells. At day 20, all mice (8/8) transplanted with unmobilized PBMCs had died of acute GvHD compared to none of the mice transplanted with MGTA-145/plerixafor mPB. Mice transplanted with unmobilized PBMCs also demonstrated 3-fold higher numbers of T-cells and increased T-cell activation compared to mice transplanted with MGTA-145/plerixafor mobilized PBMCs (p Conclusions. Co-administration of MGTA-145/plerixafor in NHPs results in both rapid and efficacious mobilization of highly enriched HSCs and a CD34dim monocyte population with potent immunosuppressive activity compared to cells mobilized with plerixafor alone or with the current standard of care, G-CSF. The increased number of these immunosuppressive monocytes compared to G-CSF has the potential to reduce GvHD in the allogenic transplant setting. Thus, MGTA-145/plerixafor may offer an advantageous graft in the allogeneic setting where the risk of GvHD remains a significant clinical problem. IND-enabling studies of MGTA-145 are in progress to assess this regimen for mPB collection and transplant. Disclosures Goncalves: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Falahee:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Li:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Morrow:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background. Allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a promising, curative approach for patients with inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs), a class of pediatric diseases characterized by a single enzyme deficiency. The goal of transplant is to provide cells that produce functional enzymes otherwise deficient in these patients, and thereby prevent or ameliorate neurological complications associated with selected IMDs. Donor-derived microglial cells are protective, limiting neurological disease progression. For IMD patients who do not have an HLA matched, non-carrier related donor, cord blood (CB) is the preferred HSPC source given its rapid availability and superior clinical outcomes compared to other graft sources. CB, however, is associated with delayed hematopoietic recovery and relatively poor engraftment due to the limited numbers of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a CB unit, delaying enzyme/protein reconstitution and cross-correction of non-hematopoietic cells. An aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist (AHRa)-based culture has been shown to expand CB CD34+ and CD34+CD90+ cells 330-fold and 100-fold, respectively, leading to rapid hematopoietic recovery after infusion of the clinical product, MGTA-456 (Wagner et al., Cell Stem Cell 2016 and Orchard et al., ASH 2018). As microglia are thought to be derived from HSCs, we hypothesized that MGTA-456 might lead to faster and greater microglial engraftment and potentially enable reduced intensity conditioning. Here, we assessed human hematopoietic and brain engraftment in NSG mice after transplant with MGTA-456 and showed that microglia engrafted faster with MGTA-456, less conditioning was needed, and that, mechanistically, these cells are derived from the CD34+CD90+ cell fraction. Methods. CB CD34+ cells were expanded in growth factor-supplemented media with or without an AHRa for 10 days. NSG mice were transplanted with unmanipulated CB CD34+ cells or the expanded product after 200 cGy total body irradiation or busulfan (BU) dosed at 20 or 40 mg/kg ip. Microglial engraftment was measured by flow cytometry of homogenized brains, quantitating the number of CD45+CD11b+Iba1+ cells, and by immunohistochemistry of brain sections. Results. Relative to naïve, unmanipulated CB CD34+ cells, transplant of MGTA-456 into sublethally irradiated mice led to an 8-fold increase in hematopoietic engraftment and a 10-fold increase in microglial engraftment in the brain (p Conclusions. These studies demonstrate that microglial engraftment is faster and greater in recipients of MGTA-456 even after lower dose BU conditioning, that microglial engraftment correlates with peripheral blood recovery, and that microglia cells are derived from CD34+CD90+ cells. These results suggest that lower dose BU may improve safety without jeopardizing efficacy in IMD recipients of MGTA-456. A Phase 2 clinical trial is ongoing to evaluate transplant of MGTA-456 in patients with select IMDs. Disclosures Goncalves: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Li:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background: Patient access to well-matched CB containing high doses of stem cells remains a challenge for successful transplants. Low numbers of CD34+ cells in CB has resulted in delayed neutrophil recovery and a risk of graft failure relative to other hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) sources. MGTA-456 is a cell therapy that consists of CD34+ cells expanded in a 15-day culture in the presence of an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist (AHRa) and the CD34 depleted fraction obtained from the same CB unit. Thus far, 40 patients with hematological malignancy (n=36) and non-malignant diseases (n=4) have received MGTA-456 with a median follow-up of 2.5 years (range 0.1 to 5 years) and 75 days (20 to 143 days) respectively. All patients engrafted at a significantly faster rate as compared to similarly treated historical controls (p Methods: The expansion culture consisted of StemSpan SFEM supplemented with SCF, FLT- 3L, TPO and IL-6 (all at 50 ng/mL) and the AHRa without the addition of antibiotics. After a 10 or 15 day culture, the CD34 expanded product was characterized by cell surface markers (CD34, CD90, CD133, CD41, CD71, CD235a, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD14, CD15, CD16, CD11b, CD33, CD19, CD56, and CD10), as well as colony-forming unit (CFU) capacity and engraftment potential in NOD-scid IL2Rgammanull (NSG) mice in a subset of products. Results: The expanded CD34+ cell fraction of MGTA-456 consisted of CD34+CD133-CD90- cells (late progenitors), CD34+CD133+CD90- cells (early progenitors) and CD34+CD133+CD90+ (progenitors and stem cells) as shown in Figure 1. The CD34- cells within the expanded fraction contained erythroid (CD71+) and megakaryocyte progenitors (CD41+), CD33+, CD14+, CD15+, and CD11b+ myeloid cells and CD56+ cells. CD3+, CD8+, CD4+, CD16+, CD19+ as well as CD10+ cells were not present ( Conclusion: In these studies, we demonstrate that the expanded CD34+ cell fraction of MGTA-456 contains large doses of CD34+CD90+ HSC and progenitors, which are critical for long term engraftment in NSG mice and correlated with rapid neutrophil recovery clinically. Disclosures Boitano: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Goncalves:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Wagner:Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding.

Conditioning chemotherapy is used to deplete hematopoietic stem cells in the recipient's marrow prior to a bone marrow transplant to facilitate engraftment of donor cells. While effective, some major issues with chemotherapy remain which includes off-target genotoxic effects increasing the risk of secondary malignancies. These complications are compounded in disease settings that arise from a deficit in DNA repair pathways where cytotoxic treatments can result in oncogenic transformation, such as Fanconi anemia (FA). FA is an inherited bone marrow failure disorder resulting from an intrinsic defect in DNA repair affecting approximately 130,000 children each year. Currently mutations in 22 genes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of FA. While novel gene-therapy based protocols are showing early promise for this patient populations, the standard treatment for the hematologic complications for FA is a bone marrow transplant. However, secondarily to an underlying sensitivity to DNA damage, these patients are unable to receive standard myeloablative conditioning, which can reduce the efficiency of reconstitution. Avoiding alkylating agents could improve outcomes and success rates in these patients. Furthermore, this methodology could be translated to the allogeneic bone marrow transplantation setting, decreasing the toxicity of this treatment modality. Our approach for characterizing an alternative conditioning regimen for FA patients utilizes immunotoxin conjugates specifically targeting hematopoietic stem cell populations. These non-genotoxic antibody-based drug conjugates utilize saporin (SAP), a ribosomal toxin, to eliminate cells in a targeted manner while leaving the remainder of the marrow compartment intact. Antibodies targeting either CD45 or CD117 were used in a mouse model of FA where expression of their FANCA gene, one of the most common mutations in humans, has been knocked out. Mice conditioned with either of the drugs received various doses of whole marrow from healthy heterozygous littermates. On the day of transplant, mice conditioned with either immunotoxin demonstrated significantly reduced LSK stem cell populations in the marrow similar to cyclophosphamide (Cy) controls (Figure 1A). Peripheral engraftment of donor cells was monitored for 6 months, after which mice were sacrificed for complete analysis of engraftment in the bone marrow compartment. No significant difference was observed in engraftment between Cy and immunotoxin conditioned mice (Figure 1B), and all treatment groups exhibited robust multilineage reconstitution in a cell dose dependent manner. Additionally, Cy treated mice demonstrated greater and sustained weight loss and lower gastrointestinal losses compared to immunotoxin treated mice. Ongoing clonal analysis studies of engrafted cells has demonstrated polyclonal reconstitution, indicating a large number of donor stem cells are actively contributing to hematopoiesis. In this study, we demonstrate that non-genotoxic conditioning approaches both facilitate multilineage engraftment of donor marrow and significantly deplete host hematopoietic stem cell populations. These are crucial since persistence of host hematopoiesis could eventually result in clonal evolution and leukemogenesis in post-transplant FA patients. Achieving both of these conditions through targeted elimination with immunotoxin conjugates represents a major advancement in bone marrow transplantation for FA. We now are initiating studies using immunotoxin-based conditioning for the transplantation of gene-modified syngeneic stem cells and allogeneic cells. We think these studies will inform future clinical trials and provide the groundwork for the next-generation of therapy for FA patients. Disclosures Hartigan: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment. Palchaudhuri:Harvard University: Patents & Royalties; Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Kiem:Homology Medicine: Consultancy; Magenta: Consultancy; Rocket Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy.

Introduction Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant blood disorders and has demonstrated impressive outcomes in autoimmune diseases. Prior to BMT, patients are prepared with high-dose chemotherapy alone or with total body irradiation, and both are associated with early and late morbidities, such as infertility, secondary malignancies and organ toxicity; and substantial risk of mortality. This greatly limits the use of BMT in malignant and non-malignant conditions. To address these issues, we are developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and immune cells to more safely condition patients for BMT. Results To enable simultaneous HSC and immune cell depletion for BMT we investigated targeting human CD45, a protein expressed exclusively on nearly all blood cells including HSCs. Antibody discovery campaigns identified several antibodies with sub-nanomolar affinities for human and non-human primate (NHP) CD45. We then created anti-CD45 ADCs with drug payloads including DNA-damaging, tubulin-targeting and RNA polymerase-inhibiting molecules. An ADC developed with alpha-amanitin (an RNA polymerase II inhibitor) enabled potent in vitro killing of primary human CD34+ HSCs and immune cells (40-120 picomolar IC50s). With this anti-CD45 amanitin ADC (CD45-AM), we explored depletion of HSCs and immune cells in vivo using humanized NSG mice. A single dose of 1 or 3 mg/kg CD45-AM enabled >95% depletion of human CD34+ cells in the bone marrow as assessed 7 or 14 days post-administration (Figure, n = 3/group, p values < 0.05); >95% depletion of human B-, T- and myeloid cells was observed in the periphery and bone marrow (Figure, p values < 0.05). Control non-targeting isotype matched-ADCs and anti-CD45 antibody not bearing a toxin had minimal effect on either HSC or immune cells. In hematopoietic malignancies, an anti-CD45 ADC would ideally reduce disease burden and enable BMT. In a model of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (REH cell line, n = 10 mice/group), and 3 patient-derived models of FLT3+NPM1+ acute myeloid leukemia (n = 4-5 mice/group per model), a single dose of 1 mg/kg CD45-AM more than doubled the median survival and several mice survived disease-free (p values < 0.001). Anti-CD45 antibodies have been investigated for BMT conditioning in patients as naked antibodies that rely on Fc-effector function to deplete lymphocytes (Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2003 9(4): 273-81); or as radioimmunotherapy (Blood. 2006 107(5): 2184-2191). These agents demonstrated infusion-related toxicities likely due to effector function elicited by the wild-type IgG backbone. To address this issue, we created anti-CD45 antibodies with reduced Fc-gamma receptor binding that prevented cytokine release in vitro and in humanized mice. As BMT will likely require fast clearing ADCs to avoid depleting the incoming graft, we also created fast-half-life CD45-AM variants with a t½ of 8-15 hours in mice. To determine the safety and pharmacokinetic properties of regular and fast half-life Fc-silent variants in an immune-competent large animal we tested these in cynomolgus monkeys. Single doses (3 mg/kg, iv, n = 3/group) of fast and regular half-life Fc-silent unconjugated anti-CD45 antibodies were both well tolerated in cynomolgus monkeys and displayed pharmacokinetic properties suitable for BMT. Conclusion These results demonstrate that targeting CD45 with an amanitin ADC results in potent in vitro and in vivo human HSC and immune cell depletion. This new CD45-AM ADC also significantly reduced disease burden in multiple leukemia models. Our results indicate Fc-silencing may avoid infusion-related toxicities observed with previous CD45 mAbs. An alpha-amanitin ADC targeted to CD45 may be appropriate for preparing patients for BMT since we hypothesize it may i) be non-genotoxic; ii) effectively deplete both HSC and immune cells; iii) avoid bystander toxicity, due to amanitin's poor cell permeability as a free toxin; and iv) kill cycling and non-cycling cells, the latter being necessary for effective HSC depletion. As our anti-CD45 ADCs are cross-reactive, we are currently investigating their HSC and immune cell depletion activity in vivo in NHPs to enable further preclinical development of these transplant conditioning agents. Disclosures Palchaudhuri: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties; Harvard University: Patents & Royalties. Pearse:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Proctor:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Aslanian:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McDonough:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sarma:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Brooks:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Bhat:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment. Ladwig:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McShea:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kallen:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Li:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Panwar:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Dushime:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sawant:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Adams:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Falahee:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Lamothe:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Gabros:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kien:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Gillard:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. McDonagh:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Boitano:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke:Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background. The ability to expand human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has the potential to improve outcomes in HSC transplantation and increase the dose of gene-modified HSCs. While many approaches have been reported to expand HSCs, a direct comparison of the various methods to expand transplantable HSCs has not been published and clinical outcome data for the various methods is incomplete. In the present study, we compared several small molecule approaches reported to expand human HSCs including HDAC inhibitors, the aryl hydrocarbon antagonist, SR1, and UM171, a small molecule with unknown mechanism, for the ability to expand phenotypic HSC during in vitro culture and to expand cells that engraft NSG mice. Although all strategies increased the number of phenotypic HSC (CD34+CD90+CD45RA-) in vitro, SR1 was the most effective method to increase the number of NOD-SCID engrafting cells. Importantly, we found that HDAC inhibitors and UM171 upregulated phenotypic stem cell markers on downstream progenitors, suggesting that these compounds do not expand true HSCs. Methods. Small-molecules, SR1, HDAC inhibitors (BG45, CAY10398, CAY10433, CAY10603, Entinostat, HC Toxin, LMK235, PCI-34051, Pyroxamide, Romidepsin, SAHA, Scriptaid, TMP269, Trichostatin A, or Valproic Acid) and UM171 were titrated and then evaluated at their optimal concentrations in the presence of cytokines (TPO, SCF, FLT3L, and IL6) for the ability to expand human mobilized peripheral blood (mPB)-derived CD34+ cells ex vivo . Immunophenotype and cell numbers were assessed by flow cytometry following a 7-day expansion assay in 10-point dose-response (10 µM to 0.5 nM). HSC function was evaluated by enumeration of colony forming units in methylcellulose and a subset of the compounds were evaluated by transplanting expanded cells into sub-lethally irradiated NSG mice to assess engraftment potential in vivo . All cells expanded with compounds were compared to uncultured or vehicle-cultured cells. Results. Following 7 days of expansion, SR1 (5-fold), UM171 (4-fold), or HDAC inhibitors (>3-35-fold) resulted in an increase in CD34+CD90+CD45RA- number relative to cells cultured with cytokines alone; however, only SR1 (18-fold) and UM171 (8-fold) demonstrated enhanced engraftment in NSG mice. Interestingly, while HDAC inhibitors and UM171 gave the most robust increase in the number and frequency of CD34+CD90+CD45RA- cells during in vitro culture, these methods were inferior to SR1 at increasing NSG engrafting cells. The increase in CD34+CD90+CD45RA- cells observed during in vitro culture suggested that these compounds may be generating a false phenotype by upregulating CD90 and down-regulating CD45RA on progenitors that were originally CD34+CD90-CD45RA+. We tested this hypothesis by sorting CD34+CD90-CD45RA+ cells and culturing these with the various compounds. These experiments confirmed that both HDAC inhibitors (33-100 fold) and UM171 (28-fold) led to upregulation of CD90 on CD34+CD90-CD45RA+ cells after 4 days in culture. Since approximately 90% of the starting CD34+ cells were CD90-, these data suggest that most of the CD34+CD90+CD45RA- cells in cultures with HDAC inhibitors and UM171 arise from upregulation of CD90 rather than expansion of true CD34+CD90+CD45RA- cells and may explain the disconnect between in vitro HSC phenotype and NSG engraftment in vivo . This was further confirmed by evaluation of colony forming unit frequency of CD34+CD90-CD45RA+ cells after culture with compounds. Conclusions. We have showed that AHR antagonism is optimal for expanding functional human HSCs using the NSG engraftment model. We also demonstrated that UM171 and HDAC inhibitors upregulate phenotypic HSC markers on downstream progenitors. This could explain the discrepancy between impressive in vitro phenotypic expansion and insufficient functional activity in the NSG mouse model. Therefore, these data suggest caution when interpreting in vitro expansion phenotypes without confirmatory functional transplantation data, especially as these approaches move into clinical trials in patients. Disclosures Goncalves: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hoban: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Proctor: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Adams: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hyzy: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Boitano: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Cooke: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.

Background. The use of umbilical cord blood (UCB) in transplant has been limited by the low number of CD34+ cells, resulting in prolonged periods of cytopenia for patients and high risk of graft failure, thereby restricting its widespread application. MGTA-456 is the hematopoietic cell product after cord blood CD34+ cells are placed in expansion culture for 15 days with an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) antagonist in the presence of SCF, Flt-3L, IL-6 and TPO. In a prior Phase 1/2 safety study, 18 patients received MGTA-456, its accompanying CD34negfraction and a larger, unexpanded UCB unit. All patients engrafted at a median of 14.5 days (range, 7-23), significantly faster than similarly treated historical controls (p Patients and Methods : Twenty patients with high-risk hematologic malignancy and a partially HLA-matched CBU were enrolled; 10 were treated with cyclophosphamide (CY) 120 mg/kg, fludarabine (FLU) 75 mg/m2 and total body irradiation (TBI) 1320 cGy (MAC) and 10 with CY 50 mg/kg, FLU 200 mg/m2 and TBI 200 cGy (NMAC). All patients received cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil post-transplant immunoprophylaxis. Expansion was low in 2 UCB units, therefore 18 patients received MGTA-456 and its CD34neg fraction. Results : Expansion culture yielded a median of 1,227 x 106 CD34+ cells (range, 201-8969) as compared to the input number of 4.2 x 106 (range, 1.4-16.3) after CD34 selection - a 324-fold (range, 42-1643) expansion of CD34+ cells. As transplant results vary by intensity of the conditioning, patient outcomes were compared to similarly treated historical cohorts between 2006 and 2015 (n=151 MAC; n=132 NMAC). For both groups, demographics were similar except for more recent year of transplant for recipients of MGTA-456. For recipients of MAC, MGTA-456 engrafted in all patients at a median of 14 days (range, 7-32) as compared to 89% engraftment at a median of 23 days (range, 19-31) in the control population (p200/uL was achieved at day 60 (median) in recipients of MGTA-456 regardless of conditioning regimen. Results were also encouraging for other transplant outcomes. For recipients of MGTA-456 compared to the historical cohort after MAC, incidence of acute GVHD (aGVHD) grade 3-4 was 22% vs 24%; chronic GVHD (cGVHD), 11% vs 21%; transplant-related mortality (TRM), 11% vs 34%; and overall survival (OS), 67% vs 55%. After NMAC, results were similar between cohorts except for a higher risk of aGVHD in recipients of MGTA-456 (aGVHD 3-4, 43% vs 15%; cGVHD, 0% vs 19%; TRM, 22% vs 20%; and OS, 44% vs 49%). The increased rate of aGVHD in the NMAC cohort likely reflects non-compliance with prescribed GVHD immunoprophylaxis in 2 of 9 recipients. Conclusion : In these studies, MGTA-456 significantly accelerated hematopoietic recovery and abrogated the engraftment barrier typically associated with UCB transplantation. The marked expansion of CD34+ cells in MGTA-456 suggests that a significant number of patients will have an adequate single CBU and better HLA matched graft since a greater proportion of the cord blood inventory will be available irrespective of weight. Given these promising results, additional studies are being planned. Disclosures Wagner: Novartis: Research Funding; Magenta Therapeutics: Research Funding. Brunstein: Novartis: Research Funding; Magenta Therapeutics: Research Funding. Boitano: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties; Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. McKenna: Magenta Therapeutics: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding. Sanna: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Bleul: Hoffmann-La Roche AG: Employment. Cooke: Magenta Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.