Adaptimmune and Genentech Terminate $3 Billion+ Allogeneic T-Cell Therapy Collaboration

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On April 12, Adaptimmune Therapeutics and Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, announced the termination of their strategic collaboration reached in 2021. The termination agreement will take effect in 180 days. This withdrawal means that Adaptimmune could lose approximately $3 billion in downstream payments.

In September 2021, Genentech and Adaptimmune announced a collaboration to develop two allogeneic T-cell therapies: (i) off-the-shelf αβ T-cell therapy targeting up to five collaborative targets; (ii) personalized therapy using αβ T-cell receptors (TCR) isolated from patients. Adaptimmune will be responsible for producing T cells (iT cells) using its induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived allogeneic platform and developing clinical candidate cells. Genentech will be responsible for inputting TCR.s and the subsequent clinical development and commercialization.

RootAccording to the terms of the agreement, Adaptimmune obtained$150 million upfront paymentAnd $35 millionMilestone payment.In addition, Adaptimmune is eligible to receive a total value that may exceed$3 billionDevelopment, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties based on net sales（mid-single to low-double）。

Upon termination of the agreement, Adaptimmune will no longer be entitled to any further milestone payments or other payments after the termination date.Adaptimmune will also no longer bear any development obligations after the termination date, and Adaptimmune has granted according to the agreementGenentechThe license will also expire on the termination date.

Genentech is cutting approximately 3% of its workforce, affecting multiple departments.

Adaptimmune CEO Adrian Rawcliffe said: "We and our partnersGenentech"We have conducted very valuable collaborations, and we still believe that our iPSC-based allogeneic platform holds long-term potential. Over the past 12 months, we have been firmly focused on our late-stage autologous pipeline, particularly our sarcoma franchise. We have the resources to launch afami-cel to the market as planned, and I look forward to presenting the latest progress at our upcoming Investor Day on April 18th."

Adaptimmune is currently preparing to launch its first product in the sarcoma series, Afami-cel, for the treatment of advanced synovial sarcoma, pending FDA review and approval, with a PDUFA date set for August 4, 2024.Expected to become the first TCR-T cell therapy for solid tumors。

Analyst Marc Frahm said"While allogeneic therapies such as the Adaptimmune/Genentech collaboration hold long-term potential, this program is not the primary focus for investors. We still believe that the stock performance will be driven by the success or failure of afami-cel’s market launch and autologous projects in other solid tumor areas."

R&D Pipeline

Summary

This move marks another time Adaptimmune has abandoned a collaboration with a pharmaceutical company. In April last year,Adaptimmune Announces Agreement with GSK to Return PRAME and NY-ESO Cell Therapy Programs, Marking GSK's Exit from Cell Therapy Development.After abandoning the collaboration, Adaptimmune cut jobs and merged with another cell therapy company, TCR² Therapeutics. In April last year,Astellas also announced the termination of the value of the TCR-T cell collaboration with Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc.$897.5 millionCooperation.

From the situation in China,Layout TCR-TExceeding 20 companies：LilingPharmaceuticals, CareBio, Fosun KiteSpecial,WuXi JuNuo,GenScript Biotech, Shenzhen Innolmmune, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, Lion Biotechnology, TianKeYa, GuangState Fan'en Bio, etc.Candidate products from multiple companies have entered the clinical stage.: Such asTAEST16001, a TCR-T therapy for soft tissue sarcoma developed by Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, is the first TCR-T cell immunotherapy product in China to receive an IND approval.It has currently entered Phase II clinical trials, with smooth progress.TCR-T Companies in China Also Focus on Strategic Partnerships，In January 2024, Lion TCR and MaxCyte signed a strategic cooperation agreement to launch global collaboration, leveraging mRNA technology to develop TCR-T therapies for the treatment of solid tumors and virus-related diseases.

Reference: Company's official website