Adaptimmune and Universal Cells Announce Collaboration to Develop Allogeneic T-Cell Therapies
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
PHILADELPHIA and OXFORD, United Kingdom, Dec. 01, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in the use of TCR
engineered T-cell therapy to treat cancer, and Seattle-based Universal Cells
Inc., a genome editing company developing universal donor stem cells, today
announced that they have entered into a collaboration and exclusive license
agreement for the development of allogeneic T-cell therapies.
With Universal Cells' proprietary gene editing technology, Adaptimmune intends
to develop affinity enhanced donor T-cells that are universally applicable. The
enhanced T-cell technology involves selective engineering of cell surface
proteins (TCRs and class I and class II HLA proteins), without the use of
nucleases, to develop universal T-cell products. Adaptimmune and Universal Cells
are planning to develop these off-the-shelf allogeneic affinity-enhanced T-cell
therapeutics to treat large patient populations.
"This collaboration marks another step towards our goal of providing innovative
immunotherapeutics to patients suffering from cancer," said Dr. Helen Tayton-
Martin, Adaptimmune's Chief Operating Officer. "Our proprietary platform for TCR
identification, affinity enhancement and safety testing is already best in
class, and we set high standards for collaborations. We believe that Universal
Cells' platform for generating universal donor cells is also best in class and
provides us with a great opportunity to test the feasibility of a longer term
allogeneic product, thus allowing large numbers of patients to be treated from a
single cell line."
"We are very excited about working with Adaptimmune. By partnering with the
world leader in TCR engineered T-cell immunotherapies, we are poised to develop
a scalable, safe, and efficacious product with the potential to revolutionize
cancer immunotherapy," said Claudia Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of
Universal Cells. "This partnership will combine Universal Cells' nuclease-free
genome editing platform with Adaptimmune's unique expertise in TCR engineering
to develop a first-in-class therapeutic product based on our universal donor
cells."
Under the terms of the agreement, Universal Cells will grant to Adaptimmune an
exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use, sell, supply, manufacture,
import, and develop products and services utilizing Universal Cells' technology
within the T-cell immunotherapy field. Universal Cells will receive an upfront
license and start-up fee of $5.5 million, and will be eligible for up to $41
million in milestone payments for certain development and product milestones.
Universal Cells would also receive a profit-share payment for the first product,
and royalties on sales of other products utilizing its technology.
About Adaptimmune
Adaptimmune is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on novel
cancer immunotherapy products based on its T-cell receptor (TCR) platform.
Established in 2008, the company aims to utilize the body's own machinery - the
T-cell - to target and destroy cancer cells by using engineered, increased
affinity TCRs as a means of strengthening natural patient T-cell responses.
Adaptimmune's lead program is an affinity enhanced T-cell therapy targeting the
NY-ESO cancer antigen. Its NY-ESO TCR affinity enhanced T-cell therapy has
demonstrated signs of efficacy and tolerability in Phase 1/2 trials in solid
tumors and in hematologic cancer types, including synovial sarcoma and multiple
myeloma. In June 2014, Adaptimmune announced that it had entered into a
strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for
the development and commercialization of the NY-ESO TCR program in partnership
with GSK. In addition, Adaptimmune has a number of proprietary programs and its
next affinity enhanced T-cell therapy, directed at MAGE A-10, is scheduled to
enter the clinic shortly. The company has identified over 30 intracellular
target peptides preferentially expressed in cancer cells and is currently
progressing 12 through unpartnered research programs. Adaptimmune has over 190
employees and is located in Oxfordshire, UK and Philadelphia, USA. For more
information: http://www.adaptimmune.com
About Universal Cells
Universal Cells Inc. is a private biotechnology company developing proprietary
nuclease-free genome editing technologies that allow efficient and accurate
editing of any gene without off-target effects. The company is using this
platform to create cell therapies that are rejection-free, off-the-shelf
products that can be administered to any recipient without the need for
immunosuppressive drugs. For more information: http://www.universalcells.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is
defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA),
which statements may be identified by words such as "believe," "may", "will,"
"estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect" and other words of
similar meaning. 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; our ability to submit an IND and
successfully advance our technology platform to improve the safety and
effectiveness of our existing TCR therapeutic candidates; the rate and degree of
market acceptance of T-cell therapy generally and of our TCR therapeutic
candidates; government regulation and approval, including, but not limited to,
the expected regulatory approval timelines for TCR therapeutic candidates; and
our ability to protect our proprietary technology and enforce our intellectual
property rights; amongst others. 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 Annual Report on Form 20-F
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 13, 2015. We urge
you to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking
statements herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-
looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement. 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. We intend that all forward-looking statements be
subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
Adaptimmune Contacts
Will Roberts
Vice President, Investor Relations
T: (215) 966-6264
E: will.roberts(at)adaptimmune.com
Margaret Henry
Head of PR
T: +44 (0)1235 430036
Mob: +44 (0)7710 304249
E: margaret.henry(at)adaptimmune.com
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1970390]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 01.12.2015 - 13:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 436748
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