Servier signs leukaemia deal
pharmafile | February 19, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Servier, UCART19, car, cellectis, leaukaemia
French firms Servier and small biopharma cancer specialist Cellectis have signed a deal to develop and commercialise one drug targeting leukaemia, and five aimed at solid tumours.
Key to the collaboration will be Cellectis’ lead candidate UCART19, containing engineered allogeneic T-cells which the companies believe could be ‘innovative’ in treating various types of leukaemia’s and lymphomas.
Cellectis believes its approach, based on allogeneic T-cell chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology designed to target surface antigens expressed on cells, should reduce toxicity associated with current chemotherapeutics.
Servier is paying Cellectis $10 million up front and could spend up to $140 million in milestones for each of the six product candidates if they are all developed successfully – and Cellectis is also in line for royalties on sales of those which reach the market.
“This partnership will provide Cellectis with substantial revenues to reach our goals in the biopharmaceutical field,” said Mathieu Simon, the company’s senior vice president.
“Combining Cellectis’ technical expertise with Servier’s scientific, medical and financial resources will create an exciting new alliance to fuel the development of our unique, novel allogeneic cancer therapies, ultimately benefiting many patients around the world,” he added.
The deal is structured so that Cellectis has responsibility for the R&D of candidates to the end of Phase I, with Servier then having an exclusive worldwide licence option for each: if the manufacturer exercises this, it will take over clinical development, registration and commercialisation.
“These original cell-based therapies will complement Servier’s innovative clinical oncology pipeline, which currently includes immunotherapeutic monoclonal antibodies, an HDAC inhibitor, kinase inhibitors, antiangiogenic and proapoptotic small molecules,” said Jean‑Pierre Abastado, head of the oncology innovation centre at Servier.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is the most common form of the disease in adults, and was estimated to account for more than 15,680 new cases and more than 4,580 deaths in the US alone last year.
Established in 1999, Collectis brought in €19 million in 2011 and has 220 staff.
Adam Hill
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