Juno Therapeutics Inc. said updated data from a phase 1 trial of JCAR017 showed high durable response rates in patients with relapsed and refractory aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The study treated 71 patients who were evaluated for pharmacokinetics, disease response and safety outcomes.

For the core analysis group, combined data across dose levels showed three-month overall response rate of 66% and complete response of 50%. Among three-month responders followed up at least six months, 90% remained in response.

For the full data set, combined data across dose levels showed best overall response rate of 76% and complete response of 52%. Three-month overall response rate was 51% and complete response was 39%.

Juno also said early safety data, which showed that a majority of patients treated experienced no cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity of any grade, suggests potential for outpatient administration of the drug.

The company's investigative chimeric antigen receptor T, or CAR T, cell product candidate, JCAR017, targets CD19, a protein expressed on the surface of almost all B cell malignancies.