On March 28, 2018 bluebird bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUE) and Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq: CELG) reported that the companies have entered into an agreement to co-develop and co-promote bb2121, an investigational anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the potential treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in the United States (Press release, bluebird bio, MAR 28, 2018, http://investor.bluebirdbio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/bluebird-bio-and-celgene-corporation-enter-agreement-co-develop [SID1234525035]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: View Source
"Entering into this co-development and co-promotion partnership with Celgene is a significant step forward in building a fully integrated oncology franchise for bluebird and together, we are committed to rapidly advancing development of bb2121 for patients," said Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., oncology franchise leader and senior vice president, corporate development and strategy, bluebird bio. "The collaboration builds upon our extensive research and development capabilities in oncology and is a testament to the strong partnership that exists between our two companies."
The companies originally entered into a broad, global strategic research collaboration in 2013 to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapies in oncology, which included bb2121.
"We are extremely pleased to advance our collaboration with bluebird on bb2121 and we believe this therapy has the potential to significantly impact the treatment approach and outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma," said Nadim Ahmed, President, Hematology and Oncology for Celgene.
About the bluebird bio-Celgene Collaboration
bluebird bio and Celgene are collaborating to develop CAR T cell therapies targeting BCMA. The collaboration’s lead oncology program, bb2121, is currently being studied for the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. For bb2121, bluebird and Celgene have joint responsibility for development, manufacturing and commercialization in the United States. Celgene will assume sole responsibility for drug product manufacturing and commercialization outside the United States.
bluebird bio and Celgene are also working together on a second clinical-stage anti-BCMA CAR T program, bb21217.