Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP.Q) announced today that it has entered into a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to develop and commercialize allogenic cell therapies to treat multiple oncology indication.
“This collaboration broadens Adaptimmune’s leadership position in developing allogeneic cell therapies building on our in-depth knowledge gained from our autologous clinical programs…Through this collaboration, our platform will form the basis of a personalized allogeneic cell therapy vision, where any patient can receive a T-cell product for their cancer; a significant step towards our goal of making cell therapies both curative and mainstream,” said Adrian Rawcliffe, Adaptimmune’s Chief Executive Officer.
Adaptimmune is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products for people with cancer. The collaboration between Adaptimmune and Genentech will consist of two components, the first being the development of allogenic T-cell therapies for up to five shared cancer targets, and the second consisting of the development of personalized allogenic T-cell therapies. This probably doesn’t make sense so let me try and break things down a bit. For starters, cellular therapy refers to the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair damaged tissue and cells in the body. With this in mind, allogenic T-cell therapy is largely the same, however, cells related to allogenic therapies rely on a single source of cells to treat numerous patients. These cells are collected from a donor sample to create a master cell bank. This cell bank is then used as a source to create cell populations that are processed according to the specified therapy. As previously mentioned, these cells are then used to treat multiple patients, opposed to just one.
So, how exactly will Adaptimmune and Genentech be collaborating? For each component, Adaptimmune will be responsible for developing clinical candidates using its induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived allogenic platform to produce T-cells. On the other hand, Genentech will be responsible for the input T-cell receptors (TCRs) and subsequent clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms of the agreement, Adaptimmune will receive an upfront payment of $150 million and additional payments of $150 million over five years, unless the agreement is terminated. Additionally, the Company may be eligible to receive research, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments potentially exceeding $3 billion in aggregate value.
“This partnership, which combines Adaptimmune’s allogeneic platform with Genentech’s expertise in developing personalized therapies, complements our other efforts to discover and develop personalized cell therapies. It holds the promise to change how we treat cancer and brings us another step closer to making personalized healthcare a reality,” said James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., global head of Pharma Partnering, Roche.
According to Adaptimmune’s Q2 2021 Financial Results, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $50,453,000 on June 30, 2021. In the same period, Adaptimmune’s total assets and total liabilities were $389,793,000 and $111,854,000 respectively. Moreover, for the three months ended June 30, 2021, the Company reported a revenue of $3,095,000, up significantly year-over-year. With the support of Genentech and Roche Group, a globally recognized healthcare company, Adaptimmune is well positioned to develop commercially viable clinical candidates. Furthermore, the Company has the right to opt in to a 50/50 U.S. profit/cost share on “off-the-shelf” products. If Adaptimmune elects to opt in, then Adaptimmune will be eligible to share 50 percent of profits and losses from U.S. sales on such products and is eligible to receive ex-U.S. regulatory and sales-based milestone payments, as well as royalties on ex-U.S. net sales.
Adaptimmune’s share price opened at $6.10, up from a previous close of $4.94. The Company’s shares are up 25% and are currently trading at $6.18 as of 12:51PM ET.