Johnson & Johnson's Dual-Targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T Therapy Phase 1b Study, Achieves 75% - 80% Complete Response Rate In Relapsed Or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients, Demonstrating Safety Profile At Recommended Phase 2 Dose

Phase 1b study suggests a promising safety profile and highlights the potential of a novel dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T in patients with relapsed or refractory disease

75-80% complete response rate among evaluable patients at the recommended Phase 2 dose 

MILAN, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced today the first clinical data from an ongoing Phase 1b study for JNJ-90014496 (JNJ-4496), an investigational dual-targeting anti-CD19/CD20 bispecific autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, being studied in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL) who have not been previously treated with CAR T-cell therapy.1 Findings demonstrate the potential of JNJ-4496 in the treatment of patients with R/R LBCL, including R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) – the most common type of aggressive lymphoma, a blood cancer that originates in the lymphatic system.1,2 These data were presented as an oral presentation at the 2025 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress (Abstract #S239).1

JNJ-4496, formerly known as C-CAR039, is a dual-targeting CAR T designed to bind to both CD19 and CD20 antigens — two cell surface proteins commonly expressed on malignant B-cells. This design, including a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, is intended to enhance binding strength and persistence, also potentially addressing common mechanisms of resistance in relapsed or refractory disease.

In the Phase 1b dose confirmation study (NCT05421663) in patients with R/R LBCL, data at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) were reported in patients with a median follow-up of 4 months. Results informed a RP2D of JNJ-4496 at 75 million CAR+ T-cells. Among the 22 patients in the RP2D group where efficacy was assessed, those who received one prior line of therapy (n=10) had an objective response rate (ORR) of 100 percent and a complete response rate (CRR) of 80 percent (95 percent confidence interval (CI), 69, 100). In the patients who had received two or more prior lines of therapy (n=12), the ORR was 92 percent and the CRR was 75 percent (95 percent CI, 62, 100).1