Date: 2015-08-12
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: CYT003, VLP platform, technology related to oligonucleotide synthesis
Company: Cytos Biotechnology (Switzerland) Checkmate Pharmaceuticals (USA - MA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Technology - Services
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: immunotherapy product. CYT003 is a product derived from the CpG class of oligonucleotides, activates the immune system via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). This TLR9-agonist has the potential to improve efficacy outcomes and broaden the size of the populations that can benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapies. CYT003 has demonstrated a good safety profile and evidence of immune activity in over 700 patients treated to date. The VLP (Virus-like particles) builds on the repetitive and highly ordered protein array formed by the Qb VLP. GMP grade Qb VLPs are produced efficiently at large scale in E.coli. Desired antigens are produced separately and can, using chemical linkers, be directionally conjugated to the VLP surface and presented in a highly ordered fashion to B-cells. As a result B-cell receptors are efficiently cross-linked, a key feature to induce a potent immune response. In addition, Qb coat proteins contain strong T helper-cell epitopes providing efficient T-help to B-cells.
Disease:
Details: * On August 12, 2015, Cytos Biotechnology announced that it executed an exclusive license agreement in the field of oncology granting Checkmate Pharmaceuticals exclusive access to Cytos’clinically validated product candidate CYT003 as well as its VLP platform and to technology related to oligonucleotide synthesis. Checkmate Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. This new research and development company is pursuing a novel approach to specifically activating the innate arm of the immune system to recognize and ultimately destroy tumor cells. The company is active in the field of CpG oligonucleotides and is validating an approach that will combine the ability of CpG DNA to activate an anti-tumor T cell response with checkpoint inhibition to overcome a tumor’s ability to mute the immune response.
Financial terms: Cytos may receive up to $ 90 million in development milestones and may receive up to double digit royalties on net sales from successfully developed products.
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