Initially Launching a Novel, High-Affinity BCMA CAR Targeting
NK Cell Development Candidate for Multiple Myeloma, with an Option
for up to Five Additional CAR Targeting Sequences
NantKwest, Inc. (Nasdaq:NK), a leading clinical-stage Natural
Killer (NK) cell based therapeutics company, and ProMab
Biotechnologies today announced the establishment of a worldwide
license to a B-Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA) targeted antibody
sequence for multiple myeloma along with an option for up to five
undisclosed targeting sequences for exclusive use in the
development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) based NK cell
therapies.
“We are pleased to announce this collaboration with ProMab
Biotechnologies, marking another milestone for NantKwest in the
development of targeted, next generation, NK cell therapeutics
against multiple myeloma and other cancers,” said Dr. Patrick
Soon-Shiong, CEO of NantKwest. “With an estimated five-year
survival rate of around 49% and accounting for 10% of all
hematological malignancies, patients with multiple myeloma are in
critical need for more effective treatment options. We believe,
NantKwest’s CAR-based NK cell therapy may represent a much needed
new treatment option for these patients. We eagerly anticipate
growing our relationship with ProMab and accelerate the development
of these new and innovative, next-generation off-the shelf,
CAR-based NK cell therapies.”
“ProMab’s strategic focus is on the development
of monoclonal antibodies and their application in cell
therapy through the integration of next generation sequencing,
bioinformatics, high-throughput screening technologies, and novel
in vitro in vivo validation tools. This new partnership allows
NantKwest to leverage the breadth of our monoclonal antibody
generation and validation platform, our human antibody library
screening capabilities, together with NantKwest’s strong NK cell
engineering, manufacturing, and clinical expertise,” said John Wu,
President and CEO of ProMab Biotechnologies. “We look forward to
working together with the NantKwest team to more rapidly bring new
NK cell therapeutics into the clinic.”
Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a debilitating blood cancer that while
treatable is usually considered incurable, resulting in over
100,000 deaths annually on a worldwide basis. Representing a
significant unmet medical need, without treatment, survival is
typically less than one year. Even with treatment, which typically
involves the use of chemotherapy, steroids, targeted therapy, and
in some cases, stem cell transplant, survival often can only be
extended to 4 to 5 years. The BCMA protein is important in B cell
development and preferentially expressed in mature B lymphocytes.
BCMA protein is also believed to be involved in the development of
multiple myeloma and other blood cancers and is an important target
for drug development.
About NantKwest Inc.
NantKwest, a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of
companies, is an innovative clinical-stage immunotherapy company
focused on harnessing the power of the innate immune system by
using the natural killer cell to treat cancer and virally induced
infectious diseases.
NantKwest is uniquely positioned to implement precision cancer
medicine, with the potential to change the current paradigm of
cancer care. Natural Killer (NK) cells are a safeguard in the human
body designed to recognize and detect cells under stress due to
cancer or viral infection. NantKwest’s “off-the-shelf” activated NK
cell platform is designed to destroy cancer and virally infected
cells from the body. The safety of our NK cells as well as their
activity against a broad range of cancers has been tested in phase
I clinical trials in Canada and Europe as well as in multiple phase
I and II clinical trials in the United States. In addition to being
a universal cell-based therapy that does not require individualized
patient sourcing or matching, our NK cell products have been
largely administered in the outpatient setting as an
“off-the-shelf” living drug.
With the capacity to grow active killer cells as a living cancer
therapy, our NK cells have been designed to induce cell death
against cancers and virally infected cells by several mechanisms,
including: innate killing, whereby all of our NK platforms
recognize the stress proteins typically found on cancer cells,
which, upon binding, release toxic granules to immediately kill
their targets; antibody-mediated killing with our haNK® platform,
which are NK cells engineered to express antibody receptors that
can bind to therapeutic antibody products, thereby enhancing the
cancer cell killing effect of that antibody. All three modes of
killing (innate, antibody-mediated, and CAR directed killing) are
employed by our t-haNK™ platform, which is an innovative
combination of our aNK, haNK® and taNK® platforms in a single
product.
Our haNK®, and t-haNK™ platforms have been designed to address
certain limitations of CAR T-cell therapy including the capability
to infuse cell therapy in an outpatient setting which allows for
potential reduction of risk for serious cytokine storms and
protracted serious adverse events. In Phase I and II clinical
trials in patients with late stage cancer, our NK cells have been
administered as an investigational outpatient infusion safely with
greater than 300 infusions to date at a dose of 2 billion
cells per infusion.
By leveraging an integrated and extensive genomics and
transcriptomics discovery and development engine, together with a
pipeline of multiple, clinical-stage, immuno-oncology programs, we
believe NantKwest is uniquely positioned to be the premier
immunotherapy company and transform medicine by delivering living
drugs in a bag and bringing novel NK cell-based therapies to
routine clinical care.
NK-92, aNK, haNK, taNK, and t-haNK are trademarks of NantKwest,
Inc.
For additional information, please visit www.nantkwest.com.
About ProMab Biotechnologies
ProMab Biotechnologies is a biotechnology company located
in Richmond California, that focuses to develop and
commercialize mouse, rabbit, human monoclonal antibodies as
well as chimeric antigen receptor-T Cell (CAR-T)
products. ProMab’s CAR-T platform covers both hematological
and solid cancers with intensive in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical
validation designed for safer and better treatment. As a CRO
in the immunology field for 18 years, ProMab offers standard
laboratory procedures and animal studies for the antibody discovery
through the integration of the newest techniques in antibody
library construction, next generation sequencing, unique
humanization modeling, high-throughput screening, and artificial
intelligence analysis systems. ProMab aims to out-license
antibodies validated in CAR-T therapy or bring the CAR-T
technologies to the early stage market of clinical study. ProMab
has partnered with top biotechnology startups, medical
institutions, and pharmaceuticals to advance the development of
cell therapies as well as bispecific antibodies across multiple
cancers. For more information,
visit www.promab.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning or
implying the Company will be successful in improving the treatment
of cancer. Risks and uncertainties related to this endeavor
include, but are not limited to, obtaining FDA approval of our NK
cells as well as other therapeutics as part of the NANT Cancer
Vaccine platform as a cancer treatment.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute
guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
These and other risks regarding our business are described in
detail in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including
in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2018. These forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update these
statements except as may be required by law.
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Jen Hodson562-397-3639Jen@nant.com
NantKwest (NASDAQ:NK)
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