Translational Project Enabling Clinical Trial for High-Risk ALL Relapse
In 2023, the Ty Louis Campbell (TLC) Foundation committed $200,000 over two years to support a collaborative team of leading researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children’s Hospital Colorado focused on Philadelphia chromosome–like (Ph-like) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)—a high-risk subtype with a relapse rate exceeding 60% and a significant mortality risk for children and adolescents treated with current chemotherapy protocols.
This translational research investment supports the critical preclinical work needed to advance a novel therapy toward a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial. Led by Principal Investigators Dr. Sara Tasian (CHOP) and Dr. Terry Fry (Children’s Hospital Colorado), the project is evaluating bispecific CAR T-cell therapies targeting TSLPR alongside CD19 or CD22, with the goal of identifying a CAR construct that is safe, effective, and ready for early-phase clinical testing.
To date, this work has progressed through rigorous laboratory and animal model studies, establishing the scientific foundation required for clinical translation. While these specific TSLPR-directed bispecific CAR T constructs have not yet entered human trials, the research has advanced the field by addressing key challenges related to target selection, efficacy, and safety—essential steps in preparing a therapy for regulatory review and eventual clinical evaluation.
Research is the reason survival rates for children with ALL have improved dramatically—from a six-month median survival in the 1970s to an overall cure rate of approximately 85% today. Yet for children who relapse, survival drops to less than 40%, with outcomes worsening after each subsequent relapse. TLC’s investment aims to help change those statistics by accelerating promising, high-risk, high-reward research toward the clinic—where new options for children with relapsed leukemia are urgently needed.
