Roche’s Genentech division is adopting a project to expand its influence in the field of cell therapy Research Alliance In cooperation with Adaptimmune Therapeutics in the clinical stage, the company has technology that can overcome some of the challenges and limitations of the treatment formed by the patient’s own immune cells.
Genentech will pay Adaptimmune US$150 million in advance to start the partnership and pay Adaptimmune US$150 million in the next five years, unless the agreement is terminated early. The agreement comes with unspecified milestones. But research payments and the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones may bring more than $3 billion in additional cash to Adaptimmune.
The currently available cell therapy is carried out in a long, multi-step process, which requires collecting the patient’s T cells, transforming these cells in the laboratory, and then reinjecting the cells into the patient’s body. Adaptimmune, based in Oxfordshire, England, produces T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). The company’s platform uses so-called “selective engineering” to remove proteins on the surface of T cells that may trigger an immune response. Adaptimmune also adds T cell receptors that bind to cancer targets. This technology produces allogeneic cell therapy, that is, “off-the-shelf” therapy, which overcomes the time and expense required for cell therapy with the patient’s own cells or donor cells.
The partnership has two parts. The first focus is to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for up to five cancer targets. The second component includes the development of “personalized allogeneic cell therapy”, in which T cell products are specifically designed for patients with cancer. For the two parts of the collaboration, Adaptimmune is responsible for developing candidate cell therapies from its iPSC platform. These cells will use Genentech’s T cell receptors, except for personalized treatments, which will use TCRs isolated from patients. Genentech will be responsible for clinical development and, if approved, will be responsible for the commercialization of these therapies.
“We believe that allogeneic cell therapy may be a game-changing method to develop a personalized treatment platform based on the unique needs of individual cancer patients,” said James Sabry, Roche Pharmaceuticals Global Head of Cooperation, in a prepared statement. “This partnership combines Adaptimmune’s allogeneic platform with Genentech’s expertise in the development of personalized therapies and complements our other efforts to discover and develop personalized cell therapies.
According to the agreement, Adaptimmune will receive tiered royalties on the net sales of any commercialized products, but it may receive more. This transaction gives Adaptimmune the option to participate in the development of off-the-shelf products in the United States. If Adaptimmune exercises this option, profits and costs will be divided equally between the two companies.UK biotech companies will still receive regulatory and sales-based milestone payments, as well as royalties for sales outside the United States
Adaptimmune has been in a cell therapy alliance with GlaxoSmithKline and Astellas. Roche’s cell therapy partners include SQZ Biotechnologies.
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