Full Press Release Details
and Allogene Therapeutics Intend to Continue Strategic Cancer
Immunotherapy Collaboration to Accelerate Development and
Commercialization of Allogeneic Off-the-Shelf CAR T Therapies
intends to assume from Pfizer the global strategic collaboration
agreement originally formed with Cellectis in 2014
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2018--Regulatory News:
Cellectis (Paris:ALCLS) (NASDAQ:CLLS) (Euronext Growth: ALCLS - Nasdaq:
CLLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing
immunotherapies based on gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells (UCART), and
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Allogene), a biotechnology company focused
on the rapid advancement of allogeneic CAR T therapies targeting blood
cancers and solid tumors, announced today that Allogene intends to
assume from Pfizer the global strategic collaboration to develop
"off-the-shelf" CAR T immunotherapies for oncology. This agreement was
initially formed with Cellectis in June 2014.
Earlier today, Allogene and Pfizer announced that the two companies have
entered into an asset contribution agreement for Pfizer's allogeneic CAR
T-cell therapy portfolio, which includes 16 preclinical assets and
UCART19. Subject to certain closing conditions, Allogene will assume the
strategic collaboration and license agreement with Cellectis, with
exclusive rights to develop and commercialize previously defined
allogeneic UCART programs directed at select targets. Cellectis will
remain eligible to receive clinical and commercial milestone payments of
up to $2.8 billion, or $185 million per target for 15 targets and tiered
royalties in the high single digits on net sales of any products that
are commercialized by Allogene under the agreement. This new alliance,
with Allogene's dedicated team, is expected to lead to a strong
acceleration of CAR T therapies.
Allogene, co-founded and led by former executives of Kite Pharma, is
well-positioned to catalyze the next revolution in cell therapy with its
leaders' unrivaled experience in the clinical development of autologous
CAR T therapy. Arie Belldegrun M.D., FACS, Founder and former Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Kite, will serve as Executive
Chairman of Allogene, and David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., former Executive
Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of
Kite, will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Allogene.
Cellectis' CAR T platform provides a proprietary, allogeneic approach
that uses engineered T-cells from a healthy donor for use in multiple
patients. This is distinct from autologous approaches that use a
patient's own T-cells to target tumor cells.
"Allogeneic represents the next transformative step in medicine, as it
will potentially allow patients all over the world to quickly receive
these potentially life-saving therapies in the most efficient and
cost-effective way possible. The last four years of partnership with
Pfizer have been very rewarding and productive. Pfizer was among the
early adopters of the allogeneic approach, seeing that gene-edited CART
programs are the future of immunotherapy to treat cancer. We sincerely
thank everyone involved in this collaboration, from the top management
to the scientists, for their foresight and their belief in our common
portfolio," said Dr. Andr Choulika, Ph.D., Cellectis' Chairman & Chief
Executive Officer. "We strongly believe Allogene, together with
Cellectis, will from the best possible team to continue this
collaboration. Our expertise in allogeneic CART and gene-editing
combined with the leadership of Drs. Arie Belldegrun and David Chang and
their exemplary track record and execution in cell therapy paves the way
for the future in off-the-shelf products enhanced by gene editing."
"We have built mutual trust and respect over the years in the CAR T
industry and this collaboration will be the starting point for a
long-term partnership," said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President and
Chief Executive Officer of Allogene. "Our mission at Allogene is to
catalyze the next revolution in cancer treatment through the development
of allogeneic CAR T therapies directed at blood cancers as well as solid
tumors. We believe this collaboration fuels our mission and we look
forward to partnering with Cellectis to accelerate the development of
allogeneic cell therapies."
Allogeneic CARTs or UCARTs (Universal Chimeric
Antigen Receptor T-cells) are off-the-shelf products that have the
potential to be industrialized and standardized, with consistent
pharmaceutical release criteria, over time and from batch to batch. Each
potential future patient may thus be treated by immediately receiving a
single dose of a standard product with consistent quality. In addition,
it is expected that such allogeneic products may be shipped in advance
and would be accessible to any cancer center in the world, without the
need to invest in a local CAR T processing facility.
Cellectis is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new generation of
cancer immunotherapies based on gene-edited T-cells (UCART), including
without limitation UCART123, UCARTCS1 and UCART22. By capitalizing on
its 18 years of expertise in gene editing - built on its flagship TALEN
technology and pioneering electroporation system PulseAgile - Cellectis
uses the power of the immune system to target and eradicate cancer cells.
Using its life-science-focused, pioneering genome engineering
technologies, Cellectis' goal is to create innovative products in
multiple fields and with various target markets.
on the Nasdaq market (ticker: CLLS) and on Euronext Growth (ticker:
ALCLS). To find out more about us, visit our website: www.cellectis.com
Talking about gene editing? We do it. TALEN is a registered trademark
Allogene Therapeutics is a biotechnology company with a mission to
catalyze the next revolution in cancer treatment through the development
of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy directed
at blood cancers and solid tumors. Founded and led by former Kite Pharma
executives who bring unrivaled clinical development acumen in cell
therapy, Allogene is well-positioned to further the potential of
allogeneic cell therapy for patients.
Allogeneic CAR T therapies are engineered from cells of healthy donors
and stored for "off-the-shelf" use in patients. This approach eliminates
the need to create personalized therapy from a patient's own cells,
simplifies manufacturing, and reduces the time patients must wait for
CAR T treatment. The Allogene portfolio includes 16 pre-clinical T cell
therapy assets and UCART19, an allogeneic CAR T therapy currently in