LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. ("ImmunoCellular") (NYSE
MKT: IMUC) announced today that it has established a licensing
agreement with the California Institute of
Technology (Caltech) for exclusive rights to novel
technology for the development of certain antigen specific T-cell
immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The technology
originated from the labs of David
Baltimore, PhD, Nobel Laureate and President Emeritus, and
Robert Andrews, Millikan Professor
of Biology at Caltech, and utilizes the patient's own hematopoietic
stem cells to create antigen-specific killer T-cells to treat
cancer. ImmunoCellular plans to utilize this technology to expand
and complement its dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine platform,
with the goal of developing new immunotherapies that kill cancer
cells in a highly directed and specific way, and that can function
as single agents or in combination approaches.
Caltech's technology addresses the challenge, and limitation,
that CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) and TCR (T-cell receptor)
technologies have faced of generating a limited, short-lived immune
response. By putting T-cell receptors into stem cells rather than
into T-cells, the immune response can be transformed into a
long-lived and potent response that could effectively treat
previously resilient solid cancers. This observation has been
verified in animal models by investigators at Caltech and the
National Cancer Institute.
"The Baltimore et al. novel approach to generating
antigen-specific T-cells for cancer therapy has potential
advantages over other T-cell therapeutic approaches. Our goal
is to generate a first clinical candidate from this new discovery
platform, and expand our existing dendritic cell expertise into the
adjacent fields of stem cells and T-cells," said Andrew Gengos, ImmunoCellular Chief Executive
Officer. "By adding this new platform technology to
ImmunoCellular's dendritic cell-based platform, we believe we can
add significant value to our Company and move toward reaching our
goal of building a leading cancer immunotherapy company based on
multiple approaches to immune system stimulation."
Financial terms of the licensing agreement are not being
disclosed.
Caltech is a world-renowned research and education institution
focused on science and engineering, where faculty and students
pursue new knowledge about our world and search for the kinds of
bold and innovative advances that will transform our future. The
scientific, engineering, and technological contributions of
Caltech's faculty and alumni have earned national and international
recognition, including 33 Nobel Prizes. Caltech's 300 professorial
faculty members offer a rigorous science and engineering curriculum
to approximately 1,000 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students,
providing one of the nation's lowest student-to-faculty ratios. The
Institute also manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for
NASA. Caltech's 124-acre campus is located in Pasadena, California. Caltech is an
independent, privately supported institution.
About ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. is a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that
is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and
other cancers. ImmunoCellular has concluded a phase II trial of its
lead product candidate, ICT-107, a dendritic cell-based vaccine
targeting multiple tumor-associated antigens for glioblastoma.
ImmunoCellular's pipeline also includes ICT-121, a dendritic cell
vaccine targeting CD133, and ICT-140, a dendritic cell vaccine
targeting ovarian cancer antigens and cancer stem cells. To learn
more about ImmunoCellular, please visit www.imuc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements for ImmunoCellular Therapeutics
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the
risk that the technology licensed from Caltech can be successfully
developed or result in product candidates, and whether ICT-107 can
be further successfully and timely developed or commercialized.
Additional risks and uncertainties are described in IMUC's most
recently filed quarterly report on Form 10-Q and annual
report on Form 10-K. Except as permitted by law, IMUC undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Contact:
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.
Investor Relations
Jane Green
415.348.0010 direct
415.652.4819 mobile
jane@jmgcomm.com
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SOURCE ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd.