PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Cellectis (Paris:ALCLS) (Alternext: ALCLS), an expert of allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies, today announced that it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Servier, the first independent French pharmaceutical research company, to develop and commercialize novel product candidates targeting leukemia and solid tumors.
The partnership covers the development and potentially the commercialization of Cellectis’ lead product candidate, UCART19. Engineered allogeneic CD19 T-cells currently stand out as a real therapeutic innovation for treating various types of leukemias and lymphomas.
The agreement also included research, development, and potentially the commercialization of five other product candidates targeting solid tumors.
Cellectis will be responsible for the R&D of certain product candidates through the end of Phase I. Servier may exercise an exclusive worldwide option for a license on each product candidate developed under the agreement. Upon exercising each option, Servier will be responsible for taking over clinical development, registration and commercialization of each product.
The financial terms of the collaboration include an upfront payment of $10 million and up to $140 million for each of the six product candidates potentially developed, spread over various milestones in the development and commercialization phases. In addition, Cellectis will receive royalties on the sales of commercialized products.
Mathieu Simon, M.D., Senior Vice-President at Cellectis stated: “Our alliance with the Servier Research Group is a real recognition of the value of our innovative approach to treating cancer. This partnership will provide Cellectis with substantial revenues to reach our goals in the biopharmaceutical field. Combining Cellectis’ technical expertise with Servier’s scientific, medical and financial resources will create an exciting new alliance to fuel the development of our unique, novel allogeneic cancer therapies, ultimately benefitting many patients around the world.”
Jean-Pierre Abastado, Ph.D., Head of the Oncology Innovation Center at Servier, commented, “These original cell-based therapies will well complement Servier’s innovative clinical oncology pipeline, which currently includes immunotherapeutic monoclonal antibodies, an HDAC inhibitor, kinase inhibitors, antiangiogenic and proapoptotic small molecules.”
Emmanuel Canet, M.D., Ph.D., President of Servier R&D, stressed that “through this partnership, Servier is reinforcing its commitment to provide innovative therapeutic solutions for unmet needs in patients with serious illnesses.”
About Cellectis
Cellectis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology. The company’s mission is to develop a novel generation of therapy based on allogeneic T-cells to treat cancer. Cellectis capitalizes on its 14 years of expertise in genome engineering, based on TALEN™, meganucleases and the state-of-the-art electroporation technology Pulsagile, to create a new generation of cancer immunotherapy for treating leukemias and solid tumors. Cellectis adoptive cancer immunotherapy for chronic and acute leukemias is based on the first allogeneic T-cell chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology. CAR technologies are designed to target surface antigens expressed on cells. These treatments reduce toxicities associated with current chemotherapeutics and have the potential for curative therapy. The Cellectis Group is focused on life sciences and uses leading genome engineering technologies to build innovative products in various fields and markets. Cellectis is listed on the NYSE Alternext market (ticker: ALCLS). To find out more about us, visit our website: www.cellectis.com.
About Servier
Founded in 1954, Servier (www.servier.fr) is the first independent French pharmaceutical research company. Its development is based on relentless pursuit of innovation in the following therapeutic areas: cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, neurologic diseases, psychiatric diseases, rheumatic diseases, and oncology.
In 2013, the company reported revenue of €4.2 billion. 92% of Servier medicines are prescribed internationally. At least 25% of revenue from Servier products is reinvested in R&D every year. Servier has a strong international presence in 140 countries and employs more than 21,000 people worldwide. The Servier Group contributed 35% to the 2013 French trade surplus in the pharmaceutical sector.
Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for shares in Cellectis in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company’s objectives based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management only and involve unforeseeable risk and uncertainties that could cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the forward-looking statements.
Contacts
Cellectis
Philippe Valachs, +33 (0)1 81 69 16 00
media@cellectis.com
or
Servier
Servier Communication Department
+33 (0)1 55 72 60 37
presse@servier.fr
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