- Celgene Secures Exclusive Options to Three Immatics TCR-T Targets
- Immatics to Receive $75 Million Upfront Payment and May Be Eligible for Future Opt-in Exercise, Milestone and Royalty
- Immatics Retains Options to Co-Develop or Co-Fund Certain Licensed Products
Houston, Texas and Tuebingen, Germany, August 28, 2019 – Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company active in the discovery and development of T-cell redirecting cancer immunotherapies, today announced that Immatics and Celgene Corporation, a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, have entered into a strategic collaboration and option agreement to develop novel adoptive cell therapies targeting multiple cancers.
Immatics may develop T-Cell Receptor Engineered T-cell Therapy (TCR-T) programs against solid tumor targets discovered with Immatics’ XPRESIDENT technology. Programs would utilize proprietary T-Cell Receptors (TCRs) identified by Immatics’ XCEPTOR® TCR discovery and engineering platform.
If Immatics develops programs against the TCR-T targets, Immatics will be responsible for the development and validation of these programs through lead candidate stage, at which time Celgene may exercise opt-in rights and assume sole responsibility for further worldwide development, manufacturing and commercialization of the TCR-T-cell therapies. Immatics would have certain early stage co-development rights or co-funding rights for selected TCR-T-cell therapies arising from the collaboration.
“We are delighted to enter into this strategic collaboration with Celgene. This alliance leverages Immatics’ excellence in developing adoptive cell therapies (ACT) and complements our proprietary clinical pipeline of ACT products and our strong portfolio of Bispecific products”, says Harpreet Singh, CEO of Immatics. “By combining Immatics’ world-leading discovery engines as well as our cellular manufacturing and clinical development platforms with Celgene’s broad expertise in cell therapy research, development and commercialization, the companies join forces to enable the development of truly novel opportunities for patients with solid tumors who currently have no other treatment options.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Immatics will receive an upfront payment of $75 million for three programs and may be eligible to receive up to $505 million for each Licensed Product in option exercise payments, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on net sales.
About Immatics’ Adoptive Cell Therapies
Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) has the potential to cure cancer. ACT is a treatment that uses natural or engineered T cells to fight cancer. Immatics has developed three innovative, proprietary approaches to producing Adoptive Cell Therapies: ACTolog®, ACTengine® and ACTallo®.
About Immatics’ Technology Platforms
Immatics has developed an extensive and diverse cancer immunotherapy portfolio based on its unique target (XPRESIDENT®) and T-cell receptor (XCEPTOR®) discovery capabilities. XPRESIDENT® is the most sensitive, accurate and highest-throughput technology capable of identifying targets in virtually any type of cancer. Immatics’ innovative TCR platform XCEPTOR® is enabling the fast and efficient discovery and qualification of a large number of high-affinity and high-specificity T-cell receptors that can be used in T-cell engineering for Adoptive Cell Therapies.
About Immatics
Immatics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company active in the discovery and development of T-cell redirecting immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s transformative product candidates are ‒ best in class ‒ Adoptive Cell Therapies and Bispecific TCR molecules. These products are directed against tumor targets that have been identified and validated by Immatics’ proprietary and world-leading XPRESIDENT® technology. Together with Immatics’ powerful TCR discovery technology XCEPTOR®, these two platforms allow a full range of cancer therapies to be developed.
Immatics’ pipeline includes T-cell therapy programs based on the proprietary ACTolog®, ACTengine® and ACTallo® approaches, which are developed in collaboration through Immatics US with University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and co-funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and several bispecific TCR and antibody molecules. The ACT T-cell products are manufactured at the Evelyn H. Griffin Stem Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory in collaboration with The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth).
Operating from Tuebingen, Munich (Germany) and Houston (Texas), the Company has recognized that novel, better and safer targets are the key to developing future cancer immunotherapies and it is Immatics’ mission to deliver the power of T cells to cancer patients.