OncoSec, Dana-Farber strike exclusive rights agreement for CAR T-cell technology


OncoSec Medical has announced a collaborative agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for the development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies.

The agreement provides OncoSec with exclusive licensing rights to research developed in Dana-Farber’s Marasco Laboratory. The research will focus on triple-negative breast cancer and other solid tumors.

Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD, a professor in the department of cancer immunology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, leads the Marasco Laboratory. Marasco is an expert in human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and is the director of the National Foundation for Cancer Research Center for Therapeutic Antibody Engineering. His lab at Dana-Farber specializes in the development of CAR T-cell therapies, with focus on developing monoclonal antibodies that attach to proteins that are highly expressed in certain solid tumors, according to a press release.

“We are excited to be partnering with OncoSec to work to bring new therapies to cancer patients in need,” Marasco said in a press release.

“The Marasco Labs are dedicated to using cutting-edge science to develop new targeted CAR T therapies that can address the challenges associated with successfully treating solid tumors. This support from OncoSec will enhance our efforts.”

The agreement gives OncoSec the option to license investigational CAR T-cell therapies and associated intellectual property generated by the Marasco Lab regarding bispecific, dual-targeted CARs that use engineered single-chain variable (scFv) antibodies. OncoSec stated that the technology can potentially treat solid tumors successfully while limiting treatment-related toxicities.

“This partnership has the potential to deliver novel, next-generation, dual-targeted CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors, an achievement that has eluded researchers due to the toxicity of current CAR T-cell therapies. Prior research suggests that Dr. Marasco’s approach may hold the key to unlocking the safe and effective use of CAR T-cell therapies in solid tumors,” Daniel J. O’Connor, president and chief executive of OncoSec, said in the release.

“CAR T-cell treatment of solid tumors is an early-stage market with no approved products at the present time, and thus represents a considerable unrealized market opportunity,” he added. “We believe the barriers preventing the advancement of CAR T-cell technology in the solid tumor setting are surmountable by Dr. Marasco and his team’s expertise.”

OncoSec plans to start clinical trials of TNCB CAR T-cell therapy in 2020. The studies will include the cell therapy as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with tavokinogene telseplasmid (TAVO, OncoSec), an investigational therapy that delivers DNA-based interleukin-12 to the tumor microenvironment to promote an immune response.

Reference:

OncoSec Medical. OncoSec receives exclusive licensing rights from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. Available at: https://ir.oncosec.com/press-releases/detail/2003/oncosec-receives-exclusive-licensing-rights-from. Accessed June 28, 2019.

 

 




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