PHILADELPHIA, Pa. and OXFORD, UK, Dec. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ADAP), a leader in T-cell therapy to treat cancer, will have updated data from its completed pilot study¹ of NY‑ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma patients in the setting of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) presented at the annual ASH meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga.

• Overall response rate (ORR) at day 100 was 76% (1 stringent complete response [sCR]; 12 very good partial response [VGPR]; 6 partial response [PR])
• At year 1, 13 patients were progression free (52%) of which 11 were responders (1 sCR; 1 CR; 8 VGPR; 1 PR)
• Three patients remain disease progression-free at 39, 56, and 61 months post T-cell infusion
• Median progression free survival (PFS) was ~13 months (range 3-61 months)
• Eleven of 25 patients (44%) are alive, and median survival was ~35 months (range 6-68 months)
• Autologous GvHD (24%) was reported in 6 patients (3 G3, 3 ≤G2); all resolved with corticosteroids and supportive therapy
• No fatal adverse events have been reported

About Adaptimmune
Adaptimmune is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products. The Company's unique SPEAR (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell platform enables the engineering of T-cells to target and destroy cancer, including solid tumors. Adaptimmune is currently conducting clinical trials with SPEAR T-cells targeting MAGE-A4, -A10, and AFP across several solid tumor indications. GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK) (NYSE:GSK) exercised its option to exclusively license the right to research, develop, and commercialize Adaptimmune's NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy program in September 2017. Transition of this program to GSK is ongoing. The Company is located in Philadelphia, USA and Oxfordshire, U.K. For more information, please visit http://www.adaptimmune.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, and include, without limitation: the success, cost and timing of our product development activities and clinical trials and our ability to successfully advance our TCR therapeutic candidates through the regulatory and commercialization processes. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to our business in general, we refer you to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 2, 2017, and our other SEC filings. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made and we do not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.