Benzinga | Sep 10, 2020 09:10AM EDT

NantKwest Affiliate Brink Biologics Reports License Deal With Fresenius Kabi; Fresenius Has Joined List Of Companies Using Brink's NK-92 Cell Line For Bioanalytical Testing

Brink Biologics, Inc. ("Brink"), a NantKwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:NK) affiliate and exclusively-licensed distributor of NantKwest's proprietary off-the-shelf NK-92(r) natural killer cells in certain fields, announces the licensing of its next-generation natural killer-based bioanalytical testing solution to Fresenius Kabi SwissBioSim GmbH ("Fresenius"), a Switzerland-based global healthcare company focusing on autoimmune diseases and oncology.

Brink Biologics offers a variety of GLP and research-grade NK-92(r) based cell lines as part of its Neukopanel(r) portfolio of products for laboratory testing applications. Neukopanel(r) includes discovery, translational and developmental research as well as commercial lot release testing of clinical products. Brink products are utilized widely by large pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies to support products ranging from anti-viral and dendritic cell vaccines, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and biosimilars, bi- and tri-specific fusion proteins, cytokines, natural killer cell checkpoint inhibitors and other biologic products.

The laboratory use of live natural killer cell cultures for functional assays, such as antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cell-mediated viral inhibition and cytokine release assays, most closely approximates what one would actually see in target patient populations. Of all the sources of natural killer cells, Brink's NK-92(r) natural killer cells are considered to be the gold standard when it comes to providing greater assay consistency and reproducibility, testing scalability, and reduced labor time and costs for laboratory scientists and technicians. These features give a competitive edge to companies licensed to use Brink's NK-92(r) products.

Fresenius has joined the growing list of leading biotechnology companies that are using Brink's NK-92(r) cell line for laboratory based bioanalytical testing.

"Since our proprietary NK-92(r) cell line provides unique advantages to commercial and academic researchers as well as commercial manufacturers, we are committed to making our bioanalytical testing solutions widely available to the public through standard licensing agreements using market-driven terms and conditions," said Barry Simon, M.D., CEO of Brink Biologics and President of NantKwest. "A growing number of commercial large pharma, biotech and device companies are joining scores of academic researchers who have accessed our NK-92 based cell lines to facilitate their internal activities. Our affiliate, NantKwest, has manufactured more than three trillion GMP-grade NK-92(r) cells and hundreds of doses of clinical product have been administered to patients in clinical trials since 2017. This positions NK-92(r) well to grow as a leading functional cell-based testing platform to complement its role as a leading immunotherapy platform, currently under development. We are pleased to make our testing solution available to Fresenius to facilitate their research and development endeavors."