Benzinga | Nov 18, 2021 04:32PM EST

Cytovia And Cellectis Expand Their TALEN Gene-Edited iNK Partnership To Enable Broader Collaboration In China

Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic "off-the-shelf" gene-edited iNK (NK cells derived from iPSC) and CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) Natural Killer (NK) cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and Flex-NK(tm) cell engager multifunctional antibodies, and Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS), a clinical-stage gene-editing company employing its core technology to develop products based on gene-editing with a portfolio of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-)T cells in the field of immuno-oncology and gene-edited hematopoietic stem cells in other indications, announced today that they have expanded their collaboration of TALEN(r) gene-edited iPSC-derived NK and CAR-NK cells to include new CAR target and development in China by Cytovia's joint venture entity, CytoLynx Therapeutics.

The amended financial terms include an equity stake totaling $20 million in Cytovia stock as well as up to $805 million of development, regulatory, and sales milestones and single-digit royalty payments on the net sales of all partnered products commercialized by Cytovia.

"We are pleased to expand the collaboration with Cellectis to enable Cytovia to develop iNK products that will leverage the high-precision of TALEN(r) to perform gene-editing to minimize the risk of off-target effects and unlock the full potential of NK cells as a first line of defense against cancer. Cytovia's internal research and development, and manufacturing teams are actively developing multiple gene-edited therapeutic candidates and optimizing our technology platform towards next generation products," said Dr. Daniel Teper, Chairman & CEO of Cytovia Therapeutics.

Cellectis is developing custom TALEN(r), which Cytovia uses to edit iPSCs. Cytovia is responsible for the differentiation and expansion of the gene-edited iPSC master cell bank into NK cells and is conducting the pre-clinical evaluation, clinical development, and commercialization of the mutually-agreed-upon selected therapeutic candidates. Cellectis is granting Cytovia a worldwide license under the patent rights over which Cellectis has the control in this field, including in China, enabling Cytovia to modify NK cells to address multiple gene-targets for therapeutic use in several cancer indications.

"We are thrilled at the progress Cytovia has accomplished in the past year," said Dr. Andr? Choulika, CEO of Cellectis. "Cytovia has attracted a world-class scientific team and is advancing its clinical candidates in areas of significant unmet medical need, sharing Cellectis' mission to provide life-saving off-the-shelf allogeneic cell therapy to patients."