Date: 2015-04-29
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: high-affinity TCR (T cell receptor) product candidates targeting solid tumors expressing the preferentially-expressed antigen in melanoma, or PRAME, including BPX-701 and POU-2AF1
Company: Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (USA - TX) Leiden University Medical Center
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: licensing development production manufacturing commercialisation
Action mechanism: cell therapy/immunotherapy product. BPX-701 is a T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapy that incorporates the CaspaCIDe switch technology, for the treatment of PRAME-expressing melanoma, sarcomas and neuroblastomas. CaspaCIDe® is Bellicum's CID safety switch technology designated to eliminate cells in the event of toxicity. The CaspaCIDe switch consists of the CID-binding domain coupled to the signaling domain of caspase-9, an enzyme that is part of the apoptotic pathway. Infusion of rimiducid is designed to trigger activation of this domain of caspase-9 (iCasp9), which in turn leads to selective apoptosis of the CaspaCIDe-containing cells.
Disease: melanoma, sarcomas and neuroblastomas
Details: * On April 29, 2015, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel cellular immunotherapies, announced it has entered into a license agreement with Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Netherlands, for worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize high-affinity TCR (T cell receptor) product candidates targeting solid tumors expressing the preferentially-expressed antigen in melanoma, or PRAME. TCRs are engineered T cells that are activated when in the presence of target antigens in cancer cells. The lead TCRs under this license agreement have been shown to have a high affinity to PRAME, a cancer antigen that is preferentially expressed in melanomas, sarcomas, neuroblastomas and other solid tumors, but generally not expressed in normal tissue. Bellicum’s first TCR product candidate under this agreement, BPX-701, targets PRAME and is expected to enter Phase 1/2 clinical trials before the end of 2015. BPX-701 incorporates Bellicum’s proprietary safety mechanism, CaspaCIDe®, for improved control over the cells. Bellicum also exclusively licensed LUMC’s TCR technology targeting POU-2AF1. These TCRs have a high affinity to the B cell transcription factor expression product of POU-2AF1, which is present in primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma. “TCRs are demonstrating broad potential for the treatment of solid tumors,” said Tom Farrell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. “The cancer targets under this license, combined with our CaspaCIDe safety mechanism, form the basis of a growing portfolio of differentiated T cell therapies with the potential to address a wide range of cancers.”
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