Kite Pharma Announces Publication Of T-Cell Therapy Targeting Mutant KRAS In Cancer By The NCI In The New England Journal of Medicine

• Publication Describes Work Pertaining to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Kite Pharma
• Kite Pharma Has an Exclusive License from NIH to Multiple T Cell Receptor (TCR) Product Candidates Targeting Mutant KRAS to Treat Solid Tumors
• Research and Accompanying Editorial by Carl H. June, M.D., Published in the December 8, 2016 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kite Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:KITE) announced today that characterizations of T cell receptor candidates which it has licensed under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been published in the December 8, 2016 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

“We are very excited to see the results of this landmark study conducted by Dr. Rosenberg and his team at the NCI. These findings represent proof of concept that T-cell technology directed against neoantigens can be utilized to treat solid tumors”

The research, led by Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Surgery Branch at NCI’s Center for Cancer Research, and a scientific collaborator with Kite, describes a patient with KRAS mutant metastatic colorectal cancer who was successfully treated with T cells that are reactive to KRAS G12D mutation. This work follows previously reported treatment of a patient with advanced cholangiocarcinoma with T cells targeting a mutated erbb2 interacting protein.

“We are very excited to see the results of this landmark study conducted by Dr. Rosenberg and his team at the NCI. These findings represent proof of concept that T-cell technology directed against neoantigens can be utilized to treat solid tumors,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Research and Development, and Chief Medical Officer of Kite.

As published in the NEJM publication, mutations in the KRAS gene are thought to drive 95 percent of all pancreatic cancers and 45 percent of all colorectal cancers. The G12D mutation is the most common KRAS mutation and is estimated to occur in more than 50,000 new cases of cancer in the United States each year.

In September 2016, Kite announced that it had entered into an exclusive, worldwide license with NIH for intellectual property related to multiple TCR-based product candidates for the treatment of tumors expressing mutated KRAS antigens. These TCR product candidates were developed in the laboratories of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., and James C. Yang, M.D., of the NCI.

About Kite Pharma

Kite Pharma, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products, with a primary focus on engineered autologous cell therapy (eACT™) designed to restore the immune system's ability to recognize and eradicate tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite Pharma, please visit www.kitepharma.com. Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the ability to advance and the success of TCR-based product candidates directed against KRAS antigens. Various factors may cause differences between Kite's expectations and actual results as discussed in greater detail in Kite's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Kite assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.