On June 6, 2017 Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA), a leading genome editing company, and San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, a leading scientific institution, reported that they have entered into a three-year research collaboration, option and license agreement to engineer optimized T cell cancer therapies (Press release, Intellia Therapeutics, JUN 6, 2017, View Source [SID1234519419]). The goal of the collaboration is to discover innovative tools to target tough-to-treat cancers, while leveraging Intellia’s proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform to generate next-generation T cell therapies that will address unmet needs in both hematological and solid tumors. Professor Chiara Bonini, Head of San Raffaele’s Experimental Hematology Unit and Deputy Director of the Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, will lead the scientific work at San Raffaele. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! The collaboration marks the first external partnership of Intellia’s eXtellia division. eXtellia’s long-term strategy is focused on advancing new generations of engineered cell therapies through the unique and proprietary applications of CRISPR genome editing. eXtellia was established in 2016, and has identified its initial areas of focus as immuno-oncology and auto-immunity, where genome-edited cell therapy offers a potentially powerful and differentiated therapeutic modality. The agreement also includes options and licenses to key technologies for production of engineered cell therapies developed at San Raffaele.
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"Through this collaboration, eXtellia aims to apply CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in a multi-faceted way to modulate the fundamental properties of engineered immune cells and amplify their anti-cancer properties far beyond current applications," said Andrew Schiermeier, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, eXtellia. "San Raffaele and Dr. Bonini are recognized globally as leaders in cell therapy and immuno-oncology, with excellent track records in translating innovative research into approved therapies. We aspire to one day cure cancer in patients who are fighting every day with few or no treatment options."
"T cell therapy has recently produced impressive results in clinical trials in specific cancer types. However, to realize the full potential of T cell therapy, including in a broader set of cancer types, next generation cellular products are needed," said Professor Chiara Bonini. "Intellia’s leadership in genome editing will be critical to achieve this goal and shape this new class of ‘living drugs’."