On January 12, 2020 Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), an advanced phase biotechnology company developing new T-cell based cancer immunotherapies, and Cellectis (Paris: ALCLS) (NASDAQ: CLLS) (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical phase biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of immunotherapies based on genetically modified allogeneic CAR-T cells (UCART), reported that they have the signing of a research partnership and an exclusive global license agreement granting at Iovance a license for certain applications of Cellectis TALEN technology to develop tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) which have been genetically modified to create more powerful cancer therapies (Press release, Iovance Biotherapeutics, JAN 12, 2020, View Source [SID1234553033]).
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This global license grants Iovance Biotherapeutics the exclusive use of TALEN technology targeting several genes to modify TILs for therapeutic purposes in various types of cancer. The financial conditions of this license provide for payments from Iovance Biotherapeutics to Cellectis at the development, regulatory and sales stages, as well as royalties on the net sales of TIL products modified using TALEN technology.
"We are delighted to collaborate with Cellectis to apply the TALEN genome editing technology to Iovance’s TIL products. We believe that we can genetically modify the TILs to obtain an anti-cancer product that is more reactive to tumors, "explains Maria Fardis, President and CEO of Iovance Biotherapeutics. "We plan to bring a modified TIL therapy using TALEN technology to the clinic as soon as possible. "
"We are delighted to work with Iovance and are convinced that the application of our TALEN technology to its TIL-based products will generate better treatments for various types of cancer," added André Choulika, President and CEO of Cellectis. "Patients remain the primary concern of our company and we sincerely hope that this collaboration will find more effective solutions for those who need them." "