Shenglin Bio and Senti Bio Announce Strategic Collaboration to Advance CAR-NK Therapy SENTI-301A for Solid Tumors in China

Through this collaboration, Shenglin Biomedical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., with the technical support of Senti Biosciences, will lead the clinical development, operations, and production of the SENTI-301A product. Shenglin Biomedical plans to first recruit clinical trial participants in mainland China, with the first participant expected to be enrolled in the first half of 2024. Shenglin Biomedical and Senti Biosciences also have the opportunity to expand the clinical development of SENTI-301A to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions of China. Senti Biosciences will retain all commercial rights to SENTI-301A outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

According to the terms of the collaboration, Senti Bio is eligible to receive up to $156 million in milestone payments and tiered royalties, assuming the achievement of specified goals. Further details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The planned dose exploration trial will include 9 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (“HCC”) expressing GPC3 (“GPC3”), divided into two dose groups. The trial endpoints include safety assessments of adverse events and dose-limiting toxicity, along with efficacy analysis based on standardized criteria for evaluating liver cancer treatment response.

Mr. Hua Erdong, Chairman of Shenglin Biomedical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., stated:"The collaboration between Shenglin Biomedical and Senti Bio provides us with multiple synergies to develop the next generation of cell therapies in China and address the significant unmet clinical needs in the field of oncology. We are excited to combine Senti Bio's innovative gene circuit technology with Shenglin Biomedical’s clinical expertise to jointly advance the clinical development of SENTI-301A, contributing to providing patients with new treatment options."

Dr. Lu Guanting, CEO and Co-founder of Senti Bio, stated:"We are delighted to establish a strategic partnership with Shenglin Biomedical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., jointly advancingSENTI-301AThe clinical development, which was the goal we set earlier this year. By leveraging the strengths of Shenglin Biomedical to accelerate the clinical development, production, and regulatory submission process in China, this collaboration marks our progress towards bringingSenti BioThe goal of applying gene circuit technology to patients with limited treatment options has come a step closer. Senti Biosciences, Inc. is a company dedicated to the clinical development of innovative drugs in China, and we look forward to collaborating with experienced teams like Shenglin Biomedical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

SENTI-301ASENTI-301A is an off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy derived from healthy donor sources, specifically designed to treat tumors expressing GPC3. These engineered NK cells target the GPC3 antigen, which is highly expressed in 70% to 90% of liver cancer patients, while showing low or no expression in normal adult tissues. Additionally, SENTI-301A incorporates calibrated release interleukin-15 (crIL-15), a multifunctional immunostimulatory payload intended to simultaneously stimulate surrounding immune cells, promoting the expansion, persistence, and tumor-killing ability of CAR-NK cells. Preclinical data from Senti Bio show that SENTI-301A effectively kills relevant tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo.

About Shenglin Biomedical

Shenglin Biomedical is committed to developing intelligent CAR immune cell therapies for the treatment of refractory solid tumors. Shenglin Biomedical's technology platform employs a comprehensive set of immunological techniques, including tumor microenvironment (TME)-induced immune cell enrichment, trafficking, and persistence screening. At the same time, these platforms utilize high-throughput methods, such as hybrid library screening, to identify and optimize chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cell (CAR-NK) signaling domains. Shenglin Biomedical was co-incubated and founded by 6 Dimensions Capital and 120 Capital, with its headquarters located in Shanghai, China. The company is dedicated to developing next-generation innovative cell therapy products and possesses full capabilities ranging from early-stage research and development, cell manufacturing, to clinical development and commercialization.

Senti Biosciences is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing next-generation cell and gene therapies for cancer patients. To achieve this goal, Senti Bio is using a synthetic biology platform called gene circuits to develop therapies with higher precision and control. Gene circuit technology can precisely kill cancer cells, protect healthy cells, enhance the specificity of target cells, and control drug expression after administration. Senti Bio’s proprietary pipeline leverages off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cells, equipped with gene circuit technology, targeting challenging hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Senti Bio has also demonstrated the potential application of gene circuits in other therapeutic modalities (beyond oncology) through preclinical studies and continues to explore these potentials through collaborations with Spark Therapeutics and BlueRock Therapeutics.