Belgium-based Celyad SA, which used to go by the name of Cardio3 BioSciences SA, has secured a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Novartis giving the Swiss company rights to US patents for the production of allogeneic CAR T cells.
Following share offerings in March and April that raised a net $103.2 million, Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has sufficient liquidity to fund operations through to late 2019, according to the company’s first-quarter results.
The Oxford, UK oncology company Immunocore Ltd has identified a lead compound in its second discovery collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline Plc which is expected to have potential for treating triple negative breast cancers, oesophageal, gastric and ovarian cancers.
Less than a year after its founding, GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd has received an investment from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, which sees promise in the UK company’s T cell platform as a source for new immunotherapies.
Pfizer Inc has expanded its portfolio of gene therapy assets following a licensing deal with Sangamo Therapeutics Inc giving it exclusive rights to a preclinical product for haemophilia A, a bleeding disorder caused by the lack of clotting factor VIII.
ReNeuron Plc has decided to put priority on bringing its cell therapy for stroke into Phase 3 and expand an early-stage programme in ophthalmology as part of a portfolio review that took into account recent clinical data and a manufacturing breakthrough.
GE Healthcare has expanded its capacity for industralising cell therapies with the acquisition of Asymptote Ltd, a UK consultancy with technology for simplifying the freezing of cells intended as therapies, and thawing them before their use in patients.
The opportunities for commercialising cell and gene therapies appeared relatively bright as the first quarter drew to a close, helped by new finance and the prospective approval of the first cancer products made from engineered T cells.
Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has raised $61.8 million, net of expenses, in a public offering of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) to advance its T cell receptor products for cancer.
Cell Medica Ltd has closed a £60 million Series C financing round to support its cell therapy platforms. The financing was announced not long after the company received a fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for its lead oncology product baltaleucel-T.