Cell Medica, a leader in developing, marketing and manufacturing cellular therapeutics for cancer and infections, has signed a research collaboration with UCL (University College London) aiming to utilize UCL’s novel T cell receptor (TCR) technology to generate leading-edge modified TCR products for the treatment of cancer.

The collaboration also provides Cell Medica with an exclusive worldwide option and license agreement for these technologies as well as TCR gene sequences for the development and commercialization of specific products. The collaboration will build on the research of Professor Hans Stauss and Professor Emma Morris of UCL, global leaders in developing modified TCRs for cancer treatments.

T cell receptors are molecules found on the surface of T cells which recognize antigens expressed by cancer cells. TCR technology exploits the ability of TCRs to target both intracellular and cell surface antigens, providing an important mechanism to engineer immune cells to target tumors. The UCL TCR technology has the potential to produce strong expression of TCRs by the engineered T cells which is expected to improve their efficacy in fighting tumors.

The collaboration will accelerate the pioneering work performed at the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation (IIT) with grant support from Bloodwise, Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The work is led by Professor Hans Stauss, Director of the IIT, and Professor Emma Morris, Director of the Infection, Immunity and Inflammation research theme at the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, both based at the Royal Free Hospital, a UCL Partners academic health science center.

UCL will conduct the preclinical and early clinical research under the guidance of a Joint Steering Committee. Cell Medica will support the product development work with its substantial experience in manufacturing clinical-grade cell therapies and establishing robust production processes suitable for industrial scale-up. Following completion of successful first-in-man studies, the products will transfer to Cell Medica for later-stage clinical development and commercialization.

Cell Medica has entered into an exclusive license and option agreement with UCL Business, the technology commercialisation company of UCL, for the dominant TCR platform patent and two target antigens. As part of this agreement, both parties can bring targets or platform technologies to the collaboration, aiming to generate leading-edge modified TCR products. In addition, UCL and Cell Medica have signed a Sponsored Research Agreement under which Cell Medica will fund all research and development with an exclusive option to license all products developed within the collaboration.

Cell Medica has paid an up-front fee and will make additional payments to exercise its exclusive option to license future products. UCL is eligible to receive further payments related to clinical, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as single digit royalties.

Gregg Sando, CEO of Cell Medica said “This collaboration adds the modified TCR technology platform to our strategy to develop breakthrough treatments for cancer using cellular immunotherapy products. The partnership with Profs Hans Stauss and Emma Morris, leading researchers in this field, should enable us to generate a pipeline of new TCR products with increased efficacy and safety for patients.”

Professor Hans Stauss, Director of the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation at the Royal Free Hospital, a UCL Partners academic health science centre, said “This collaboration provides an exciting opportunity to move our TCR gene therapy technologies more effectively towards clinical application. We are grateful to the blood cancer charity Bloodwise, who have provided important long-term support for our work. The new collaboration with Cell Medica enables us to take full advantage of our pre-clinical research and rapidly develop novel TCRs for the treatment of patients with cancer”.

Professor Emma Morris, Director of the Infection, Immunity and Inflammation research theme at the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, and Professor of Clinical Cell and Gene Therapy said “As a clinician treating patients with blood cancers, I am aware of the urgent need to develop more effective and less toxic therapies. Immunotherapy with gene-modified immune cells has enormous potential to transform the lives of cancer patients. It is truly exciting to be supported by Cell Medica to accelerate our progress in developing new therapies.”

Dr Alasdair Rankin, Research Director at Bloodwise, said “Having supported the UCL team’s work for many years, it is exciting to see their hugely promising research reach this stage. This important collaboration is a vital step in the development of new treatments that could have a significant impact on outlook for many patients.”