Iovance Biotherapeutics and Cellectis Enter into a Research Collaboration and Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement
Published on January 12, 2020 in New York (N.Y.)
Iovance Biotherapeutics Will Use TALEN® Technology from Cellectis to Develop Gene-Edited TIL
SAN CARLOS, CA and NEW YORK, NY, January 12, 2020 -- Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based cancer immunotherapies, and Cellectis (Euronext Growth: ALCLS - NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-Cells (UCART), announced today that the companies have entered into a research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement whereby Iovance will license certain TALEN® technology from Cellectis in order to develop tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) that have been genetically edited to create more potent cancer therapeutics.
The worldwide exclusive license enables Iovance Biotherapeutics’ use of TALEN® technology addressing multiple gene targets to modify TIL for therapeutic use in several cancer indications. Financial terms of the license include development, regulatory and sales milestone payments from Iovance Biotherapeutics to Cellectis, as well as royalty payments based on net sales of TALEN®-modified TIL products.
“We are very excited to be collaborating with Cellectis in applying the TALEN® gene-editing technology to Iovance’s TIL product. We believe that we can genetically modify TIL to make a more tumor-reactive anti-cancer product,” said Maria Fardis, Ph.D., MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iovance Biotherapeutics. She added: “We plan to move a TALEN®-edited TIL therapy into a clinical trial as rapidly as possible.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Iovance and believe that applying our TALEN® technology to TIL-based products will yield even better treatments for a variety of cancers,” added André Choulika, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Cellectis. “Patients remain at the heart of our company and it is our sincere hope that this collaboration can help provide more efficacious options to those in need.”