Definition

A preparation of T lymphocytes that have been transduced with a bicistronic vector encoding two distinct chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), one against the tumor-associated antigen (TAA) CD19 and the other one against the TAA CD20, with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities. Upon administration, the anti-CD19/CD20 bicistronic CAR T cells target, bind to and induce selective toxicity in tumor cells expressing CD19 and/or CD20. CD19 and CD20, both transmembrane phosphoglycoproteins expressed on the surface of cells in the B lineage, are often overexpressed on malignant B cells. By simultaneously targeting two B-cell antigens using two different CARs, this preparation may minimize relapse due to single antigen loss in patients with B-cell malignancies.