Astellas Pharma Enters $50 Million Strategic Collaboration to Advance Immuno-Oncology Pipeline with Poseida Therapeutics

▎Edited by the WuXi AppTec content team

Recently, Astellas Pharma and Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. announced a strategic investment collaboration to support Poseida's commitment to redefine cancer cell therapy.

According to the terms of the transaction agreement,Astellas to Invest Total of $50 Million, with $25 Million for Purchasing Common Stock of Poseida and Another $25 Million for Exclusive Negotiation Rights and Priority Licensing Rights to Poseida’s Clinical-Stage Program P-MUC1C-ALLO1 in a One-Time Payment.In addition, Astellas will have the right to appoint an observer to Poseida's Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committee.

Astellas has identified key focus areas for its R&D strategy, with immuno-oncology being one of the strategic priorities. Astellas is committed to leveraging its multi-functional platform to develop the next generation of immuno-oncology drugs, with a portfolio that includes oncolytic viruses, bispecific immune cell engagers, small molecule drugs, and cell therapy platforms.

Poseida Therapeutics utilizes its proprietary gene editing platform to develop cell and gene therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases. In the field of oncology, Poseida has a broad pipeline of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy candidates for the treatment of solid and liquid tumors, including P-MUC1C-ALLO1.

P-MUC1C-ALLO1 is designed to be fully allogeneic, eliminating or reducing reactions between the host and the graft through gene editing.Has the potential to treat a variety of epithelial cell-derived solid tumors, such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cancer, as well as other cancers expressing cancer-specific forms of mucin 1 protein (MUC1C).In preclinical models, P-MUC1C-ALLO1 has been shown to eliminate triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer tumor cells to undetectable levels.

Previously released Phase 1 clinical data for P-MUC1C-ALLO1 in the treatment of solid tumors showed that, as of November 14, 2022, seven patients had completed dosing, of which four were evaluable.1For example, a HR+, HER2- breast cancer patient who had previously received four lines of treatment achieved partial response, and two patients with gastrointestinal tumors (colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer) who had previously received multiple lines of treatment reached stable disease.The cell therapy demonstrated good safety and tolerability, with no dose-limiting toxicity, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, graft-versus-host disease, or cytokine release syndrome. According to information on the ClinicalTrials website, the estimated primary completion date for this Phase 3 clinical trial is April 2026.

References:

[1] Astellas and Poseida Therapeutics Announce Strategic Investment to Support Poseida's Commitment to Redefining Cancer Cell Therapy. Retrieved August 8，2023，from https://investors.poseida.com/news-releases/news-release-details/astellas-and-poseida-therapeutics-announce-strategic-investment

[2] Poseida Therapeutics to Present Early Data from Phase 1 Trials of P-MUC1C-ALLO1 and P-BCMA-ALLO1 at ESMO Immuno-Oncology 2022 Annual Congress y. Retrieved August 8，2023，from 

[3] P-MUC1C-ALLO1 Allogeneic CAR-T Cells in the Treatment of Subjects With Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors. Retrieved August 8，2023，from https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05239143?term=NCT05239143&draw=2&rank=1