Cullinan Oncology Significantly Increases Ownership Stake in its MICA Subsidiary which Holds Worldwide Rights to Clinical-Stage Novel Monoclonal Antibody CLN-619
October 25 2022 - 7:00AM
Cullinan Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGEM), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on modality-agnostic targeted oncology, today
announced that it has increased its ownership in its Cullinan MICA,
Inc. (MICA) subsidiary from 54% to 92%. MICA holds the worldwide
rights to CLN-619, an antibody that restores the MICA/MICB pathway
to promote tumor cell lysis from both cytotoxic innate and adaptive
immune cells. CLN-619 is being investigated as both monotherapy and
in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy in an ongoing
Phase I study in patients with advanced solid tumors. Cullinan
increased its ownership by purchasing equity from two of MICA’s
financial investors, Avalon Ventures and Bregua Corporation, for
$30.7 million. The Myeloma Investment Fund, a venture philanthropy
fund for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF),
maintained its ownership in the entity.
“Cullinan Oncology has acquired additional ownership in the MICA
subsidiary as part of our overall strategy to deploy our robust
financial resources for pipeline investment, acceleration, and
expansion,” said Nadim Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Cullinan
Oncology. “This investment recognizes the strategic importance of
CLN-619 in our portfolio as a key asset with first-in-class
potential and strong rationale for development in a broad range of
cancer indications. We are excited by the potential of this unique
approach to cancer treatment, and we remain committed to our
mission to create new standards of care for patients with
cancer.”
“One of the hallmarks of cancer is the ability to avoid
destruction by immune cells. CLN-619 is designed to overcome immune
evasion by promoting NK cell-mediated tumor cell lysis and
facilitating engagement of certain classes of T-cells. This
differentiated mechanism activates both the innate and adaptive
immune system, providing strong rationale to target the MICA/MICB
pathway as a novel approach with potential to treat patients with
cancer,” said Jeff Jones, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer,
Cullinan Oncology. “Given MICA/MICB are broadly expressed across
tumor types, we are committed to investigating CLN-619 across a
range of malignancies, and we look forward to reporting initial
clinical data from our ongoing Phase I clinical study in
mid-2023.”
About CLN-619
CLN-619 is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal
antibody that binds to MICA and MICB, ligands expressed on a wide
variety of hematological and solid tumors that are recognized by
both cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells via their NKG2D
receptors. To evade lysis by these immune cells, tumor cells shed
MICA/MICB from their cell surface. CLN-619 promotes an antitumor
response through multiple potential mechanisms of action, including
prevention of the proteolytic cleavage of MICA/MICB from cancer
cells, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and
enhancement of MICA/MICB binding to NKG2D. Multiple studies
evaluating serum samples from cancer patients have demonstrated
that high serum levels of shed MICA correlate with poor prognosis.
CLN-619 is being studied in an ongoing Phase I dose escalation and
expansion trial both as a monotherapy and in combination with
pembrolizumab. The study design allows dose level extensions as
well as expansion in tumor specific cohorts. The trial was
initiated in December 2021, and initial clinical data is
anticipated in mid-2023.
About Cullinan
Oncology
Cullinan Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGEM)
is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating new standards
of care for patients with cancer. We innovate without borders to
find the most promising clinic-ready cancer therapies, whether from
our own discovery efforts or through exceptional engagement with
our academic and industry partners. Anchored in a deep
understanding of immuno-oncology and translational cancer medicine,
we leverage our scientific excellence in small molecules and
biologics to create differentiated ideas, identify unique targets,
and select the optimal modality to develop transformative
therapeutics across cancer indications. Powered by our novel
research model, we push conventional boundaries from candidate
selection to cancer therapeutic, applying rigorous early
experimentation to fast-track only the most promising assets to the
clinic and ultimately commercialization. As a result, our
diversified pipeline is strategically built with assets that
activate the immune system or inhibit key oncogenic drivers across
a wide range of modalities, each with the potential to be the best
or first in their class.
Our people possess deep scientific
expertise, seek innovation openly, and exercise creativity and
urgency to deliver on our promise to bring new therapeutic
solutions to patients with cancer. Learn more about our Company at
www.cullinanoncology.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and
Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
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Contacts:
InvestorsChad Messer+1
203.464.8900cmesser@cullinanoncology.com
Media Rose Weldon +1
215.801.7644 rweldon@cullinanoncology.com
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