Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, "Sorrento") today
announced that the Company has entered into an additional
collaborative agreement with NextGenNK Competence Center-associated
research groups at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge,
Karolinska Institutet (“KI”) in Stockholm, Sweden, aimed at
producing novel cell-based therapeutics using natural killer (“NK”)
cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (“iPSCs”).
Sorrento and KI are collaborative partners in the Competence Center
for the development of next-generation NK cell-based cancer
immunotherapies (“NextGenNK”) coordinated by KI.
Under the agreement, Sorrento will provide
know-how in the core chimeric antigen receptor (“CAR”) and dimeric
antigen receptor (“DAR”) technologies and support the collaborative
effort to develop new CAR-NK and DAR-NK candidates, as
well as fund the translational validation of the technologies.
Multiple product candidates will be developed and tested in the
initial phase of the planned work, with the goal that the candidate
products will qualify for further human clinical trials.
The foundational Sorrento research assets
critical to this program are novel proprietary CAR and
DAR constructs identified through Sorrento’s proprietary
G-MAB™ fully human antibody library and previously validated as
determinants of cell-based therapy potency against hematologic and
solid tumors.
“It is a privilege to continue and extend
our collaborative work with the distinguished KI faculty.
We are proud to contribute our technologies to
produce new optimized off-the-shelf adoptive NK cell
immunotherapies," said Dr. Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO of
Sorrento. "Our partnership with KI combines our know-how with
the expertise of a world-renowned institution in
the field of NK cell therapy. These types
of partnerships are essential in advancing
medicine and bringing new
solutions to cancer patients
in need.”
KI scientists within NextGenNK will
establish iPSC-derived NK-based therapeutic
candidates utilizing Sorrento’s constructs and DAR technology.
Work within KI has contributed to the development of methodologies
that consistently generate robust and potent NK cell lineages
following iPSC differentiation. Clinical trials of NK cell-based
therapies for treatment of multiple myeloma led by researchers at
KI have yielded promising preliminary results with long-lasting
remissions. In a very cross-knit collaboration between Sorrento and
KI, the team will aim to establish novel allogeneic, off-the-shelf,
retargeted NK cell-based therapies.
Utilizing iPSCs enables mass production of
off-the-shelf NK cell therapies that leverage Sorrento’s existing
manufacturing infrastructure and know-how. Sorrento expects these
validated re-engineered NK cell-based therapeutic candidates could
potentially become a new generation in off-the-shelf treatments for
cancer and infectious diseases. The core research will be
performed at Karolinska Institutet
with active involvement of the Sorrento
R&D team in San Diego.
“The present collaboration brings together key
competence from Sorrento and KI in an important area of cancer
immunotherapy research. Sorrento’s intellectual contribution to the
research at the Competence Center is a critical piece in enabling
retargeted off-the-shelf NK cell products,” said Evren Alici,
Principal Investigator at KI.
“This is an important step in further enabling
academic and industrial partnerships in the mission of achieving
common goals for advancement of novel cancer immunotherapies,” said
Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, Director of the NextGenNK Competence
Center.
About Sorrento Therapeutics,
Inc.
Sorrento is a clinical stage, antibody-centric,
biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to treat cancers
and COVID-19. Sorrento's multimodal, multipronged approach to
fighting cancer is made possible by its extensive immuno-oncology
platforms, including key assets such as fully human antibodies
(“G-MAB™ library”), clinical stage immuno-cellular therapies
(“CAR-T”, “DAR-T™”), antibody-drug conjugates (“ADCs”), and
clinical stage oncolytic virus (“Seprehvir™”). Sorrento is also
developing potential antiviral therapies and vaccines against
coronaviruses, including COVIGUARD™, COVI-AMG™, COVISHIELD™,
Gene-MAb™, COVI-MSC™ and COVIDROPS™; and diagnostic test solutions,
including COVITRACK™, COVISTIX™ and COVITRACE™.
Sorrento's commitment to life-enhancing
therapies for patients is also demonstrated by our effort to
advance a first-in-class (TRPV1 agonist) non-opioid pain management
small molecule, resiniferatoxin (“RTX”), and SP-102 (10
mg, dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA™), a
novel, viscous gel formulation of a widely used corticosteroid for
epidural injections to treat lumbosacral radicular pain, or
sciatica, and to commercialize ZTlido® (lidocaine topical
system) 1.8% for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. RTX has
completed a Phase IB trial for intractable pain associated with
cancer and a Phase 1B trial in osteoarthritis patients. SEMDEXA is
in a pivotal Phase 3 trial for the treatment of lumbosacral
radicular pain, or sciatica. ZTlido® was approved by the FDA
on February 28, 2018.
For more information, visit
www.sorrentotherapeutics.com.
About Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical
universities. Our vision is to advance knowledge about life and
strive towards better health for all. Karolinska Institutet
accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical
research conducted in Sweden and offers the country’s broadest
range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel
Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in
Physiology or Medicine.
For more information about Karolinska Institutet, visit
https://ki.se/en/research/research-at-karolinska-institutet.
For more information about NextGenNK, visit
https://ki.se/en/research/nextgennk.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements made for
and during any presentation or meeting contain forward-looking
statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., under the safe
harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements
regarding Sorrento’s and KI’s to bring “off-the-shelf” NK
cell-based cancer treatments to patients; Sorrento’s and KI’s
ability to produce novel cell-based therapeutics using NK cells
derived from iPSCs; Sorrento’s and KI’s ability to develop new
CAR-NK and DAR-NK candidates and to validate such technologies; the
expectation that the collaborative effort will result in the
development and testing of multiple product candidates and that any
such product candidates will qualify for human clinical trials; the
ability of KI scientists to establish iPSC-derived NK-based
therapeutic candidates utilizing Sorrento’s constructs and DAR
technology; the expectation that utilizing iPSCs will enable mass
production of off-the-shelf NK cell therapies; the potential for
Sorrento to be able to use its existing manufacturing
infrastructure and know-how to mass produce any off-the-shelf NK
cell therapies; the potential for re-engineered NK cell-based
therapeutic candidates to become a new generation in off-the-shelf
treatments for cancer and infectious diseases; and the therapeutic
potential of iPSC-derived NK-based therapeutic candidates. Risks
and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ
materially and adversely from those expressed in our
forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: risks
related to Sorrento's and its subsidiaries’, affiliates’ and
partners’ technologies and prospects and collaborations with
partners, including, but not limited to: risks related to seeking
regulatory approvals; clinical development risks, including risks
in the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and
product development programs; risk of difficulties or delays in
obtaining regulatory approvals; risks that clinical study results
may not meet any or all endpoints of a clinical study and that any
data generated from such studies may not support a regulatory
submission or approval; risks that prior test, study and trial
results may not be replicated in future studies and trials; risks
of manufacturing and supplying drug product; risks related to
leveraging the expertise of its employees, subsidiaries, affiliates
and partners to assist Sorrento in the execution of its therapeutic
antibody product candidate strategies; risks related to the global
impact of COVID-19; and other risks that are described in
Sorrento's most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including Sorrento's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the risk factors set forth in those filings.
Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release and we undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement in this press release except as required
by law.
Media and Investor Relations
ContactAlexis Nahama, DVM (SVP Corporate
Development)Email: mediarelations@sorrentotherapeutics.com
Sorrento® and the Sorrento logo are registered
trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
G-MAB™, DAR-T™, SOFUSA™, COVIGUARD™, COVI-AMG™,
COVISHIELD™, Gene-MAb™, COVIDROPS™, COVI-MSC™, COVITRACK™,
COVITRACE™ and COVISTIX™ are trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics,
Inc.
SEMDEXA™ is a trademark of Semnur
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ZTlido® is a registered trademark owned by
Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
©2021 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
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