A mesothelioma patient treated with a single dose of AdAlta’s experimental CAR T cell therapy EW-001 has remained cancer-free for two years. The Complete Response—meaning no tumor could be detected following treatment — comes from a trial conducted in China, and is a result that’s almost never seen in patients with the rare and deadly asbestos-related disease.
Mesothelioma Study Achieves Complete Response in 20% of Higher-Dose Patients
EW-001, formerly known as BZDS1901, engineers a patient’s own immune cells to identify and destroy mesothelioma cells, and has potential applications in more than ten other cancers. According to the company’s report, one of ten mesothelioma patients treated with higher doses of the EW-001 therapy experienced a durable two-year cancer-free survival after a single infusion, and a second has now survived more than 12 months after receiving EW-001. This 20% Complete Response rate, as well as the 14% rate achieved in all evaluable patients, is remarkable, as studies of second-line and later treatments for advanced mesothelioma have generally reported zero percent complete tumor clearance.
AdAlta is actively preparing EW-001 for its next development stage. The company is transferring the therapy’s manufacturing process to Cell Therapies Pty Ltd, with the first Australian manufacturing runs expected in the second half of 2026—an important step because CAR T cell therapies are made individually from each patient’s own immune cells, making manufacturing quality, speed, and cost central to clinical success. AdAlta is also preparing for a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which will be critical to whether Australian and U.S. clinical studies for the mesothelioma treatment can proceed.
Complete Response in Mesothelioma Patients Offers Real Hope
For patients who have exhausted standard treatment options and for whom second-line therapies have historically produced zero complete responses, the prospect of a CAR T cell therapy that has eliminated all detectable cancer in patients represents exactly the kind of breakthrough the mesothelioma community has been waiting for.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma and you need more information about the resources available to you, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today. We can be reached at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
