AbCellera Expands Collaboration with AbbVie to Develop Novel T-Cell Engagers for Oncology

On January 13, 2025 AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) reported that it has expanded its existing collaboration with AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) to include the discovery of T-cell engagers (TCE) in oncology (Press release, AbCellera, JAN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234649689]). The expansion builds upon the successful partnership established in December 2022 and includes access to AbCellera’s TCE platform to develop therapeutic antibodies for tumor targets.

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"We are pleased to broaden our AbbVie collaboration and look forward to using AbCellera’s TCE platform to bring novel cancer immunotherapies to patients in need," said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., founder and CEO of AbCellera.

Under the terms of the agreement, AbCellera will lead discovery activities and AbbVie has the right to develop and commercialize therapeutic antibodies resulting from the collaboration. AbCellera will receive upfront and research payments and is eligible to receive downstream milestone payments as well as tiered royalty payments on net sales.

Scribe Therapeutics Achieves Milestone for In Vivo Program in Collaboration with Sanofi

On January 13, 2025 Scribe Therapeutics Inc., a genetic medicines company unlocking the potential of CRISPR to transform human health, reported the achievement of a success milestone for one of the targets in its research collaboration with Sanofi to develop in vivo CRISPR-based therapeutics (Press release, Scribe Therapeutics, JAN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234649688]). Scribe is eligible to receive over $1.2 billion across all programs in milestone payments for the achievement of certain research, development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as high-single-digit to mid-teen royalties.

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"We are excited about the progress we have made towards creating potentially curative in vivo genetic medicines with a partner like Sanofi," said Benjamin Oakes, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Scribe. "The complementary expertise of our teams has enabled the program to move quickly and attain early validation of our CRISPR genome editing technologies. We look forward to further advancement of this program with a direct line of sight towards bringing breakthrough CRISPR-based therapeutics to patients with significant unmet need."

CRISPR by Design is Scribe’s data-driven design and engineering approach for optimizing its CRISPR-based platforms and assets, including X-Editing (XE) technologies, to drive forward a new era of transformative genetic medicines.

"Advancing our in vivo program with Sanofi speaks to the versatility and strength of Scribe’s CRISPR-based platforms," said Svetlana Lucas, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer at Scribe. "We are pleased to reach this important milestone and continue progressing our collaboration to accelerate and expand our patient impact globally."

Scribe announced its initial research collaboration with Sanofi for CRISPR-based cell therapies to address oncology indications in 2022, followed by an expansion in 2023 to advance in vivo medicines for genomic diseases.

Roche receives FDA clearance for new, highly-sensitive test to aid clinicians in diagnosing B-cell lymphoma

On January 13, 2025 Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) reported that it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its highly-sensitive in-situ hybridisation (ISH) test, the VENTANA Kappa and Lambda Dual ISH mRNA Probe Cocktail (Press release, Hoffmann-La Roche, JAN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234649687]). The test is designed to help pathologists differentiate a B-cell malignancy from a normal, reactive response to an infection, thus facilitating faster access to treatment.4 This announcement follows the assay’s CE Mark approval in June 2024.

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B-cell lymphoma is a type of cancer that typically develops in the lymphatic system. It accounts for approximately 85 percent of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases.3 NHL is one of the most common forms of cancer in the US, accounting for about 4% of all cancer cases,5 and causing more than 80,000 deaths each year.5 In the early stages of NHL, patients may experience symptoms like swelling of the lymph nodes, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite or a red rash.

"Accurately differentiating lymphoma from an infection is critical in ensuring accurate and timely diagnosis, especially as the symptoms can appear similar," said Jill German, Head of Pathology Lab at Roche Diagnostics. "With this new test, clinicians can have confidence in their diagnosis, while the test reduces the need for multiple samples and time consuming follow up tests, giving patients certainty sooner, and enabling faster access to the right treatment."

With increased sensitivity, the new VENTANA Kappa and Lambda Dual ISH mRNA Probe Cocktail enables assessment across the more than 60 B-cell lymphoma subtypes and plasma cell neoplasms on a single tissue slide. The test can assess small biopsies and formalin-fixed tissue, reducing the need for a fresh tissue sample, which may not be available especially if lymphoma was not originally suspected. These test properties preserve tissue, may result in fewer additional patient biopsies and make interpretation quicker and easier for the pathologist, helping facilitate a faster diagnosis and access to treatment for patients.

This first-of-its-kind assay is a significant addition to Roche’s industry-leading hematopathology portfolio, which includes more than 65 biomarkers.

About the VENTANA Kappa and Lambda Dual ISH mRNA Probe Cocktail
The VENTANA Kappa and Lambda Dual ISH mRNA Probe Cocktail Assay is a qualitative assay that is used to detect the expression of kappa and lambda immunoglobulin light chains in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) human hematolymphoid specimens by in situ hybridization (ISH).

The assay is intended as an aid in the diagnosis of mature B-cell lymphomas and plasma cell neoplasms. The VENTANA Kappa and Lambda Dual ISH mRNA Probe Cocktail is indicated for use when a biopsy of lymph node or bone marrow (core biopsy and clot section) indicates inconclusive results. It enables the assessment of both markers in the context of one another on a single slide as an aid in differentiating between a reactive process or B-cell lymphoma and plasma cell neoplasms.

This is not a standalone test, and results should be evaluated by a qualified pathologist within the context of the patient’s clinical history and other diagnostic tests. This product is intended for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) use.

Ginkgo Bioworks Partners with Universal Cells, an Astellas Company, to Advance Next-Generation iPSC-Derived Cell Therapies for Solid Tumors

On January 13, 2025 Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, reported a research collaboration with Universal Cells, an Astellas company, to optimize next-generation induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cancer cell therapies (Press release, Ginkgo Bioworks, JAN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234649686]). This collaboration underscores Ginkgo’s capacity to deploy high-throughput biological approaches to tackle the complex challenge set associated with development of therapies targeting solid tumors.

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iPSC-derived cell therapies have the potential to transform cancer care by offering scalable, ‘off-the-shelf’ treatment options. However, bringing efficacious therapies to patients requires robust design and screening processes to improve persistence in the patient to enable durable clinical responses. By combining Universal Cells’ proprietary iPSC-derived cell technologies with Ginkgo’s expertise in design and screening large CAR libraries and its high throughput, multimodal immune cell engineering platform, the companies aim to accelerate the development of more potent and durable cell therapies while maintaining manufacturability at scale.

Ginkgo’s approach leverages computational tools, deep expertise in library assembly and screening, and rigorous statistical analysis and biological insight to help partners discover and engineer optimal therapeutic designs with greater speed and precision. Ginkgo’s platform capabilities extend across multiple dimensions of cell therapy development, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) discovery and optimization, armoring strategies for enhanced cell survival and persistence, and gene editing tools for immune cell engineering. Ginkgo employs high-throughput pooled and arrayed screening methods that enable the simultaneous testing of numerous CAR designs from transcriptome to cell function. This approach facilitates discoveries that aim to improve immune cell persistence and functionality.

"We’re excited to embark on this collaboration, which represents a significant milestone for Ginkgo as we expand our cell therapy portfolio," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "Teaming up with Universal Cells, part of Astellas, allows us to bring our comprehensive immune cell engineering capabilities to a highly respected, global pharmaceutical leader. We look forward to working together to optimize iPSC-derived allogeneic cell therapies that have the potential to improve patient outcomes and reshape how we treat solid tumors."

"Cell therapies hold immense promise, but realizing their full potential requires innovation at every step, from design to delivery," said Dr. Narendra Maheshri, VP, Genetic Medicines at Ginkgo Bioworks. "Our platform enables partners to rapidly explore the functional impact of a large number of CAR designs simultaneously, and then iterate to further refine those designs. By applying this approach with Universal Cells, we aim to help accelerate CAR approaches, opening up new possibilities in the fight against cancer."

To learn more about how you can leverage Ginkgo’s capabilities in cell therapy and gene editing – from CAR-T to CRISPR and beyond – please visit our website.

CARsgen’s Allogeneic CD19/CD20 CAR-T Therapy Administers First Dose in an Investigator-Initiated Trial

On January 13, 2025 CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2171.HK), a company focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, reported that KJ-C2219, an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19/CD20, has administered the first dose to a patient in an investigator-initiated trial (IIT) (Press release, Carsgen Therapeutics, JAN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234649685]).

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KJ-C2219 is developed based on CARsgen’s THANK-u Plus platform and is designed for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. An investigator-initiated trial is ongoing in China to evaluate KJ-C2219 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R B-NHL).

About THANK-u Plus

CARsgen has developed the THANK-u Plus platform as an enhanced version of its proprietary THANK-uCAR allogeneic CAR-T technology to address the potential impact of NKG2A expression levels on therapeutic efficacy. THANK-u Plus demonstrates sustained expansion regardless of varying NKG2A expression levels on NK cells and exhibits significantly improved expansion compared to THANK-uCAR. Preclinical studies show that THANK-u Plus delivers superior antitumor efficacy in the presence of NK cells compared to THANK-uCAR. Allogeneic BCMA or dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR-T cells developed using this platform exhibit robust antitumor activity in the presence of NK cells, indicating that THANK-u Plus has broad potential for developing diverse allogeneic CAR-T therapies.