Moderna and Immatics Announce Strategic Multi-Platform
Collaboration to Develop Innovative Oncology Therapeutics
- Collaboration combines leading technologies to develop
breakthrough, mRNA-enabled in vivo expressed TCER® molecules
- Companies to leverage Immatics’ XPRESIDENT® target discovery
platform and Moderna’s mRNA technology for the development of novel
cancer vaccines
- Collaboration to include evaluation of Immatics’
investigational IMA203 PRAME TCR-T in combination with Moderna’s
investigational PRAME mRNA cancer vaccine
- Immatics to receive $120 million upfront cash payment plus
research funding with the potential for additional milestone and
royalty payments
Cambridge, Massachusetts and
Tuebingen,
Germany,
September 11,
2023 – Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA, “Moderna”) and
Immatics N.V. (NASDAQ: IMTX, “Immatics”), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company active in the discovery and development
of T cell-redirecting cancer immunotherapies, today announced a
strategic research and development collaboration to pioneer novel
and transformative therapies for cancer patients with high unmet
medical need. This broad multi-platform collaboration will leverage
the deep scientific expertise and core operational capabilities of
both companies, combining Immatics’ TCR platform with Moderna’s
cutting-edge mRNA technology, and span various therapeutic
modalities including bispecifics, cell therapy and cancer
vaccines.
The strategic R&D collaboration between
Moderna and Immatics focuses on three pillars:
- Applying Moderna’s mRNA technology
for in vivo expression of Immatics’ next-generation, half-life
extended TCR bispecifics (TCER®) targeting cancer-specific
HLA-presented peptides.
- Enabling the discovery and
development of novel mRNA-based cancer vaccines by leveraging
Moderna’s deep knowledge of mRNA science and customized information
from Immatics’ wealth of tumor and normal tissue data included in
the target discovery platform XPRESIDENT® and its bioinformatics
and AI platform XCUBE™.
- Evaluating Immatics’ IMA203 TCR-T
therapy targeting PRAME in combination with Moderna’s PRAME
mRNA-based cancer vaccine. The collaboration contemplates
conducting preclinical studies and a Phase 1 clinical trial
evaluating the safety and efficacy of the combination with the
objective of further enhancing IMA203 T cell responses.
“We are excited to embark on this strategic
collaboration with Immatics, a pioneer in developing innovative
cancer immunotherapies. This partnership presents a groundbreaking
opportunity to leverage our mRNA technology alongside Immatics' TCR
platform, potentially diversifying and augmenting the way we
approach cancer treatment. We believe this collaboration will
accelerate the development of novel oncology therapies and bring us
one step closer to providing significant benefits for patients with
high unmet medical needs,” said Rose Loughlin, Ph.D., Moderna's
Senior Vice President for Research and Early Development.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Moderna in
our quest to pioneer innovative and transformative therapies to
combat cancer. We believe Immatics’ cancer target and TCR
platforms, along with Moderna's cutting-edge mRNA technology,
represent a powerful combination that has the potential to deliver
meaningful benefits to cancer patients,” said Toni Weinschenk, PhD,
Chief Innovation Officer at Immatics. “The rapid advancement of our
first 2 TCER® programs into the clinic, with additional TCER®
compounds fueling our pre-clinical pipeline, underscores our
commitment to develop innovative therapeutics. We are confident
that we can explore the optimal delivery of TCER® molecules through
this collaboration to maximize clinical benefit in a broad patient
population,” added Carsten Reinhardt, MD, PhD, Chief Development
Officer of Immatics.
About the
CollaborationUnder the terms of the agreement,
Immatics will receive an upfront payment of $120 million. Immatics
will also receive research funding and is eligible to receive
development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments that
could exceed $1.7 billion. Immatics is also eligible to receive
tiered royalties on global net sales of TCER® products and certain
vaccine products that are commercialized under the agreement. Under
the agreement, Immatics has an option to enter into a global profit
and loss share arrangement for the most advanced TCER®.
Moderna will lead the clinical development and
commercialization of cancer vaccines and TCER® therapeutics
resulting from the collaboration. Immatics will be responsible for
conducting the preclinical studies and a potential Phase 1 clinical
trial investigating IMA203 TCR-T in combination with the PRAME mRNA
vaccine to further enhance IMA203 T cell responses. Each party will
retain full ownership of its investigational PRAME compound, and
the parties will fund the clinical study on a cost sharing
basis.
Within the collaboration, preclinical activities
conducted by Immatics will be managed by the Immatics Discovery
Unit, a recently created internal division at Immatics integrating
its technology platforms into one interdisciplinary team focused on
all early-stage preclinical pipeline and collaboration
programs.
The collaboration is subject to customary
antitrust clearance in the United
States.
– END –
About ModernaIn over 10 years
since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage
company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to
an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and
therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property
portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle
formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for
both clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains
alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government
and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of
both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing.
Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow
the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most
effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous
advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology,
and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics
and vaccines for infectious diseases, immune-oncology, rare
diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Moderna
Genomics was created to leverage the recent advancement in both the
RNA delivery platform and the genomic medicines to create the next
generation of in vivo gene editing therapeutics. Moderna has been
named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past
eight years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
Moderna Forward-Looking
Statements: This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including regarding: the agreement
between Moderna and Immatics to develop innovative oncology
therapeutics; the opportunity presented by the collaboration to
leverage Moderna’s mRNA technology alongside Immatics’ TCR platform
to potentially diversify and augment the way we approach cancer
treatment; the potential for the collaboration to accelerate the
development of novel oncology therapies; and the antitrust
clearance process in the United States. The forward-looking
statements in this press release are neither promises nor
guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond
Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include
those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading
“Risk Factors” in Moderna’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2022, filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), and in subsequent filings made by
Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any
intention or responsibility for updating or revising any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the
event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These
forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current
expectations and speak only as of the date of this press
release.
About ImmaticsImmatics combines
the discovery of true targets for cancer immunotherapies with the
development of the right T cell receptors with the goal of enabling
a robust and specific T cell response against these targets. This
deep know-how is the foundation for our pipeline of Adoptive Cell
Therapies and TCR Bispecifics as well as our partnerships with
global leaders in the pharmaceutical industry. We are committed to
delivering the power of T cells and to unlocking new avenues for
patients in their fight against cancer.
Immatics intends to use its website
www.immatics.com as a means of disclosing material non-public
information. For regular updates you can also follow us on Twitter,
Instagram and LinkedIn.
Immatics Forward-Looking
Statements:Certain statements in this press release may be
considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
generally relate to future events or Immatics’ future financial or
operating performance. For example, statements concerning the
timing of product candidates and Immatics’ focus on partnerships to
advance its strategy are forward-looking statements. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as
“may”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “will”, “estimate”,
“anticipate”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential” or “continue”, or
the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar
terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by Immatics and its management, are inherently
uncertain. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to
time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and
uncertainties. Factors that may cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations include, but are not limited
to, various factors beyond management's control including general
economic conditions and other risks, uncertainties and factors set
forth in filings with the SEC. Nothing in this press release should
be regarded as a representation by any person that the
forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or
that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking
statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they
are made. Immatics undertakes no duty to update these
forward-looking statements.
Moderna Contacts:
Media Contact |
|
Chris Ridley |
|
Vice President, Communications |
|
Phone: +1 617-800-3651 |
|
Chris.Ridley@modernatx.com |
|
Investor
Relations
Contact |
|
Lavina Talukdar |
|
Senior Vice President & Head of Investor Relation |
|
Phone: +1 617-209-5834 |
|
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com |
|
Immatics Contacts:
Media and Investor Relations Contact |
|
Eva Mulder or Charlotte Spitz |
|
Trophic Communications |
|
Phone: +31 6 52 33 15 79 |
|
immatics@trophic.eu |
|
Immatics N.V. |
|
Anja Heuer |
Sabrina Schecher, Ph.D. |
Senior Director, Corporate Communications |
Senior Director, Investor Relations |
Phone: +49 89 540415-606 |
Phone: +49 89 262002433 |
media@immatics.com |
InvestorRelations@immatics.com |
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