HQ Team
October 29, 2022: 2seventy bio, Inc., an immuno-oncology cell therapy company, and China’s JW Therapeutics, announced a pact to establish a platform to explore T cell-based immunotherapy therapy products in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao.
“The true patient benefit of this collaboration lies in the ability to establish additional capabilities to test rapidly, learn and progress our innovative cell therapy programs,” said Steve Bernstein, chief medical officer of 2seventy bio, a US-based company.
“JW Therapeutics possesses an extensive understanding of the unmet medical needs of the population and the regulatory affairs process in China as well as the clinical development pathways,” he said.
“The opportunity to bring together our distinctive areas of experience to create a differentiated platform supports our goal of bringing new therapies to patients as quickly as possible.”
No financial details
The platform is translational and does clinical cell therapy development. The company did not disclose the financials of the deal.
The initial focus of the collaboration is 2seventy bio’s MAGE-A4 TCR program in solid tumours, developed as part of a collaboration with Regeneron.
MAGE-A4 is a member of the MAGE family of cancer-testis antigens expressed in several solid tumour types. The program will develop T cell receptor (TCR) therapies for treating MAGE-A4 positive solid tumours.
Chimeric antigen receptor CAR) T-cell therapy is a way to get immune cells called T cells (a type of white blood cell) to fight cancer by changing them in the lab to find and destroy cancer cells.
CAR T-cell therapy is also known as cell-based gene therapy, which involves altering the genes inside T cells to help them attack cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, this type of treatment can be helpful in treating some types of cancer, even when other treatments are no longer working.
2seventy bio will grant JW Therapeutics a license for the MAGE-A4 cell therapy in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao. JW Therapeutics will be responsible for development, manufacturing, and commercialization within China.
Royalties
2seventy bio will receive milestones and royalties on product revenues in China. Additionally, 2seventy bio may leverage the early clinical data generated under the collaboration to support development in other geographies.
“2seventy is a top-tier cell therapy company with advanced technologies and a highly experienced team,” said Mark J. Gilbert, Chief Medical Officer of JW Therapeutics.
“This alliance will further leverage our world-class integrated capabilities, including translational research and clinical development. We look forward to accelerating the development of more cell immunotherapy products with breakthrough therapeutic value to serve more patients with cancer in China and potentially worldwide.”
2seventy bio goes after what the patient needs most: Time.
“Cancer rips time away, and our goal is to work at the maximum speed of translating human thought into action – 270 miles per hour – to give the people we serve more time.”
