Astellass CAR Tech Deals Speed Up Its Pursuit Of In Vivo Cancer Cell Therapies
The next advance in cell therapy is engineering these cells into patients. The two agreements, more than four years apart, allow Astellas Pharma to strengthen its work in the development of these in vivo therapies.
As part of the latest deal announced late Thursday, Astellas is partnering with Kelonia Therapeutics, which has developed technology to target genetic cargo into the body's cells to convert those cells into CAR T therapy in vivo. Kelonia said that was part of it. of the agreement vivo gene positioning system or iGPS technology.
The genetic load transferred to the cell causes the expression of receptors that target the tumor cells. This chimeric antigen receptor is the "CAR" of CAR T therapy. The collaboration will combine Kelonia's technology with the capabilities of cell therapy developer Xyphos Biosciences, which Astellas acquired in late 2019. Xyphos convertibleCAR technology replaces the NKG2D receiver. some immune cells that facilitate immune control. These changes make it possible to target cancer cells. Xyphos says its technology enables the creation of cellular therapies that can be designed and redesigned in vivo to target multiple tumor antigens, increasing the ability of engineered immune cells to seek out and destroy tumors.
The terms of the Cologne deal require the two companies to work together to develop two in vivo CAR T therapy programs. The purpose of these programs is not disclosed. Xyphos will be responsible for the development and commercialization of the application, subject to approval by regulatory authorities.
Kelonia will receive an initial $40 million for the first program and an additional $35 million if Xyphos exercises its option for the second program. The big payout could bring a total of $800 million to Kelowna. Kelonia will also receive research funding for its research and development as part of this partnership. If the alliance's treatment reaches the market, Kelonia will also earn royalties on its sales.
Astellas is not the only biopharmaceutical company specializing in in vivo cell therapy. In 2021, Sanofi acquired Tidal Therapeutics, a preclinical startup with technology that uses messenger RNA to generate a patient's immune cells. Capstan Therapeutics, a University of Pennsylvania spinoff that will be established in 2022, is developing in vivo cell therapies. Capstan uses mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to reprogram a patient's immune cells.
Kelonia, an MIT affiliate, has raised $50 million in Series A funding in 2022. Following the funding announcement, Kelonia founder and current CEO Kevin Friedman told MedCity News that one of the startup's goals is to make cell therapy more affordable and accessible. to the patient Engineering the patient's cells in vivo avoids the complexity and expense that currently makes CAR T therapy available only in large medical centers. Kelonia's technology offers the potential to deliver care in community hospitals, "democratizing extraordinary clinical benefits for patients," he said.
Kelonia last year presented research in mice and monkeys showing in vivo delivery of CAR molecules to T cells, leading to sustained tumor clearance. These results were achieved without the typical toxicities associated with cell therapy and without the need for a chemotherapy conditioning regimen, one of the steps currently required by CAR T therapy. At the time, Kelonia said he was working to advance the key to his internal program. , as a treatment for multiple myeloma, in the clinic.
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