TCR² Therapeutics and Arbor Biotechnologies Establish Collaboration to Advance Allogeneic TRuC-T Cell Therapies
January 04 2022 - 7:00AM
TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRR), a clinical-stage cell
therapy company with a pipeline of novel T cell therapies for
cancer patients suffering from solid tumors, and Arbor
Biotechnologies, a biotechnology company discovering and developing
the next generation of genetic medicines, today announced that the
two companies have entered into a strategic research collaboration
and non-exclusive license agreement focused on the further
development of a defined set of allogeneic TRuC-T cell therapies.
The collaboration leverages Arbor’s proprietary CRISPR gene-editing
technology, which is tailored to address the underlying pathology
of genetic diseases, and TCR2’s’ first-in-class TRuC platform,
which has demonstrated clinical activity in multiple
treatment-refractory mesothelin-expressing solid tumor indications
with its lead autologous program gavo-cel.
“Our autologous TRuC-T cells have already
established clinical activity in multiple difficult-to-treat solid
tumors without being dependent on HLA, thus allowing our therapies
to be used on the broadest patient population. We believe
allogeneic TRuC-T cell therapies will further extend this impact by
accelerating patient access while reducing manufacturing cost,”
said Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of
TCR2 Therapeutics. “The collaboration with Arbor enables us to
evaluate multiple allogeneic candidates with novel enhancements and
advance a lead candidate in 2022, consistent with our vision of
continuing to innovate novel therapies for cancer patients
suffering with solid tumors.”
"The collaboration with TCR2 allows us to
leverage Arbor's proprietary discovery engine and gene editing
technologies with an established cell therapy leader developing
life-changing treatments for serious cancers,” said Devyn Smith,
Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Arbor. “This agreement reinforces
the versatility and strength of Arbor’s platform and furthers our
strategic vision of expanding the impact of Arbor’s gene editors
through partnerships with leading organizations developing
engineered cell therapies.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Arbor will
receive an upfront cash payment and is also eligible to receive
additional milestone payments based upon the successful achievement
of development, regulatory and commercial milestones across a
selected number of programs. In addition, TCR2 will pay tiered
royalties on future net sales on any products that may result from
this collaboration.
About TCR2
Therapeutics
TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. is a
clinical-stage cell therapy company developing a pipeline of novel
T cell therapies for cancer patients suffering from solid
tumors. The company is focused on the discovery and
development of product candidates against novel and complex targets
utilizing its proprietary T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion
Construct T cells (TRuC®-T cells). The TRuC platform is
designed to specifically recognize and kill cancer cells by
harnessing signaling from the entire TCR, independent of human
leukocyte antigens (HLA). For more information about TCR2, please
visit www.tcr2.com.
About Arbor Biotechnologies
Arbor Biotechnologies is a life sciences company
discovering and developing the next generation of genetic medicines
based on wholly owned genomic editors discovered from its machine
learning/AI driven discovery platform. Since its founding by Feng
Zhang, David Walt, David Scott, and Winston Yan, Arbor has built
the most extensive toolbox of proprietary genomic editors in the
industry. Using the discovery platform, Arbor can discover, screen,
and engineer novel editing enzymes and effectors that can then be
tailored to the underlying cause of disease to result in
potentially curative medicines for patients. As Arbor continues to
advance its pipeline toward the clinic with an initial focus in
liver and CNS disease, the Company has also partnered with leading
companies on several gene editing and ex vivo cell therapy programs
to broaden the reach of its novel nuclease technology. For more
information, visit arbor.bio.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements and information within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal
securities laws. The use of words such as "may," "will," "could",
"should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," "endeavor,"
"potential," "continue" or the negative of such words or other
similar expressions can be used to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, express or implied statements by TCR2 Therapeutics Inc.
regarding the therapeutic potential of gavo-cel and the Company’s
other product candidates, timing of updates for the gavo-cel
clinical trial, expectations with respect to timing of the
Company’s IND submission for TC-510, expectations regarding timing
for lead candidate selection and preclinical data for the Company’s
allogeneic TRuC-T cells, emerging pipeline and other enhancements,
future IND filings and clinical development plans, the development
of the Company’s TRuC-T cells, their potential characteristics,
applications and clinical utility, and the potential therapeutic
applications of the Company’s TRuC-T cell platform.
The expressed or implied forward-looking
statements included in this press release are only predictions and
are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including, without limitation: uncertainties inherent in clinical
studies and in the availability and timing of data from ongoing
clinical studies; whether interim results from a clinical trial
will be predictive of the final results of the trial; whether
results from preclinical studies or earlier clinical studies will
be predictive of the results of future trials; the expected timing
of submissions for regulatory approval or review by governmental
authorities, including review under accelerated approval processes;
orphan drug designation eligibility; regulatory approvals to
conduct trials or to market products; TCR2’s ability to maintain
sufficient manufacturing capabilities to support its research,
development and commercialization efforts, including TCR2’s ability
to secure additional manufacturing facilities; whether TCR2's cash
resources will be sufficient to fund TCR2's foreseeable and
unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure
requirements, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TCR2’s ongoing
operations; and other risks set forth under the caption "Risk
Factors" in TCR2’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, most
recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and its other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of these
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events
and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and
actual results could differ materially and adversely from those
anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You
should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of
future events. Although TCR2 believes that the expectations
reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it
cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity,
performance or events and circumstances reflected in the
forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur.
Moreover, except as required by law, neither
TCR2 nor any other person assumes responsibility for the
accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements
included in this press release. Any forward-looking statement
included in this press release speaks only as of the date on which
it was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Investor and Media
Contacts:
TCR2
Therapeutics
Carl MauchDirector, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications(617) 949-5667carl.mauch@tcr2.com
Arbor Biotechnologies
Amy Bonanno(914) 450-0349abonanno@soleburytrout.com
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