Date: 2015-10-21
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Novartis (Switzerland)
Acquiring company: Admune Therapeutics (USA - MA)
Amount: undisclosed
Terms: * On October 21, 2015, Novartis announced that it is broadening its portfolio of cancer immunotherapies with the acquisition of Admune Therapeutics. The focus of the acquisition is Admune’s lead compound, Heterodimeric IL-15 (IL15:IL15Ra), a novel IL-15 agonist that may have broad applications for cancer immunotherapy. Admune will be integrated into Novartis’ rapidly expanding immune-oncology portfolio. Admune’s IL-15 agonist is currently in phase I clinical trials for metastatic cancers at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. In pre-clinical studies, IL-15 therapies have been shown to activate lymphocyte cells including CD8+ T-cells and Natural Killer (NK) cells that play a critical role in stimulating the body’s immune system. This program will be explored as monotherapies and in combination with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) technology, novel checkpoint inhibitors, STING agonists and Novartis' deep portfolio of targeted therapies.
Details: Admune Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company, was founded by a highly experienced team of scientists and business people with a proven track record in producing successful biomedical products. Admune Therapeutics is affiliated with Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc. (MPT), a provider of groundbreaking medical solutions focused in the areas of hemostasis and wound healing. Admune Therapeutics is engaged in a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute to conduct R&D and commercialize innovative cytokine cancer therapies that will benefit human health. The company is conducting research to determine the efficacy of heterodimeric Interleukin-15:IL-15Ra (hetIL-15) in the treatment of cancer patients. The company has begun enrollment in a Phase I clinical study in humans through the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Pre-clinical studies of hetIL-15 have shown a wide safety profile. The cytokine hetIL-15 is important for the development, survival, and proliferation of many lymphocyte subsets, including natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T-cells (for review). Heterodimeric IL-15 is a member of the 4-helix-bundle protein family that includes growth factors, and that have found great uses as protein therapeutics. These include human growth hormone, Interleukin-2 (IL-2), erythropoietin and GM-CSF. HetIL-15 acts on the surface of cells as a noncovalent complex with membrane-embedded IL-15Ra to engage the IL-2/IL-15 receptor beta/gamma complex on nearby cells, a process termed trans-presentation. In addition, hetIL-15 is circulating in the plasma as a soluble heterodimer of IL-15 with the processed extracellular part of the IL-15Ra, and is essential for the homeostasis of the immune system. Exogenous administration of hetIL-15 can be used to grow lymphocytes to very high levels and to push them towards an activated stage with minimal toxicity. Several pre-clinical models have indicated the ability of hetIL-15 to enhance the response of the immune system against infections and cancer.
Related: Cancer - Oncology
