Immatics and MD Anderson launch new company to develop ACR therapies
pharmafile | August 27, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cancer, MD Anderson Cancer Center, immatics, keytruda
Immatics Biotechnologies and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) have together launched a new company focusing on developing adoptive cellular therapies (ACT) for the treatment of a range of tumour types.
The new company- Immatics US, Inc- will be based in Houston and has secured a first funding round totalling over $60m. More than $40m comes from the parent company Immatics Biotechnologies and another $19.7 million from a recently-awarded grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). MDACC is a shareholder.
Immatics US aims to become a global leader in ACT therapy, which involves boosting the number of T-Cells and the body’s ability to destroy tumours caused by cancer.
The new company will develop three different ACT approaches- a mixture of autologous and allogenic- for the treatment of tumours with high un-met medical needs, the first of which will enter the clinic in 2016.
The company hopes to leverage MD Anderson’s clinical oncology and cell therapy expertise and Immatics’ strength in cancer target and T-cell receptor (TCR) discovery.
Anderson boasts leading scientists with years of experience in developing T-Cell therapies, including Patrick Hwu, division head of cancer medicine, and Cassian Yee, professor of medical melanoma oncology. Both will guide and advise Immatics US in its programme.
Germany-based Immatics said it will use the discoveries and qualifications of dozens of novel, proprietary and highly-specific cancer targets, made using its XPRESIDENT engine, as the basis for a range of cancer immunotherapy applications, including ACT.
This capability will enable the company to develop TCR-based approaches and to have complementary utility with other approaches for addressing tumour targets.
Immatics has also gained access to various technologies developed or in-licensed by MD Anderson. These include the use of the cytokine IL-21 for expansion of T cells, a gamma-delta T-cell platform for allogeneic cell therapy approaches and various technologies designed to optimise the development of ACT.
“The potential of cancer immunotherapy has been constrained by the lack of novel targets,” says Harpreet Singh, CEO of Immatics US, Inc. “Immatics has been working for the last 15 years to gain a broad and in-depth understanding of the immunopeptidome of tumour and normal tissue cells.
“Based on this unique expertise we have discovered dozens of novel immunotherapy targets that will be central to the success of Immatics US, Inc. With several complementary development programs guided by some of the most exceptional scientists in the field of cancer immunotherapy, we are in exactly the right place to deliver transforming therapies to cancer patients with high medical need.”
Ronald DePinho, president of MD Anderson, comments: “Our ongoing efforts to provide the most innovative therapies to our patients are due, in part, to collaborations both in academia and industry. “It is only through working with other leaders in cancer science will we provide the solutions of tomorrow.”
Immatics US is the latest collaboration for MDACC, which announced a team-up with Merck to research Keytruda earlier this month.
Joel Levy
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