Collaboration for the discovery and development of innovative cancer-specific CAR-NK products is underway
Collaboration for the discovery and development of innovative cancer-specific CAR-NK products is underway, leveraging Combotope Therapeutics’ proprietary Tumor Glycoform specific scFv discovery platform and CiMaas’s Adoptive CAR-NK technology.
- CiMaas has the option to develop and commercialize up to three therapeutic candidates.
- Combotope Therapeutics will receive upfront payment, success fees, and royalties on sales.
- First candidate Mucin-1 tumor glycoform nominated.
Copenhagen, Denmark, and Maastricht, the Netherlands: Combotope Therapeutics and CiMaas jointly announce an oncology research and license option agreement. Under this agreement, CiMaas has the option to select three tumor glycoform protein targets, with the aim of discovering and developing next-generation CAR-NK and CAR-T antibody-based therapeutics for cancer treatment. The first selected target is the Mucin-1 tumor glycoform. CiMaas will provide funding for the preclinical and clinical development of these candidates up to clinical proof of concept.
Ola Blixt, CEO of Combotope Therapeutics, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with CiMaas for co-developing these antibody sequences into more effective CAR-NK and CAR-T cells for immunotherapy. The sequences are discovered using Combotope Therapeutics’ proprietary antibody development platform, iDEAL. This platform facilitates the rapid selection and optimization of tumor-specific antibodies that target aberrantly glycosylated proteins found solely on cancer cells. iDEAL has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by offering targeted therapy that is both safe and effective.
Søren N. Jakobsen, COO of Combotope Therapeutics, highlights that this strategic partnership exemplifies a win-win scenario, showcasing how Combotope intends to expedite the development and commercialization of a wide array of innovative scFv-based anti-cancer therapies, both off-the-shelf and personalized, through mutually beneficial pharmaceutical collaborations.
Wilfred Germeraad, CSO of CiMaas, highlighted the significance of Mucin-1 as a cancer cell target. CiMaas aims to utilize the antibodies developed by Combotope Therapeutics to create optimized CAR-NK cells with enhanced specificity for stronger binding activity against solid tumor cells. This enhancement will activate Natural Killer cells more effectively, enabling them to enhance their killing capacity. CiMaas has already demonstrated that such CAR-NK cells can eliminate more breast cancer cells than non-modified NK cells. Through this collaboration, CiMaas aims to bring this improved concept to clinical practice as swiftly as possible.
Gerard Bos, CEO of CiMaas, emphasized that this collaboration and exclusive license option enable them to further leverage NK cells against cancer. CiMaas, in conjunction with university partners in Maastricht (NL) and Utrecht (NL), is currently researching the role of Mucin-1 as a target in pre-clinical breast cancer models as a final step toward clinical application. In addition, tumor cells originating from T cell Non-Hodgin lymphoma are more sensitive to CAR-NK cell killing.
Financial Terms: According to the agreement, CiMaas will provide Combotope Therapeutics with an upfront payment. Combotope Therapeutics will be eligible for potential milestone payments per therapeutic candidate exclusively licensed, developed and commercialized by CiMaas, as well as tiered royalties.
About Combotope Therapeutics: Combotope Therapeutics aims to be the leading provider of truly tumor-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapies, catering to all cancer patients across various cancer types without affecting healthy cells. Established in 2023, Combotope Therapeutics is the creator of the proprietary mAb discovery platform, integrated Design Antibody Libraries (iDEAL), designed to target aberrantly glycosylated proteins on cancer cells while sparing healthy cells expressing the same, but naturally glycosylated protein. The identified scFv sequences exhibit high affinity, making them suitable for integration into numerous therapeutic modalities for effective cancer treatment.
The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information, please visit www.combotopetherapeutics.com
About CiMaas: CiMaas is a spin-off of Maastricht University Medical Center, founded in 2015. CiMaas is an immuno-oncology cell therapy biotech company developing safe and effective treatments for cancer. Having an own manufacturing (GMP) facility is especially instrumental for the realization of cell-therapy during early clinical developments. CiMaas stands distinctively at the vanguard of NK cell therapies. It has realized a proprietary manufacturing procedure for the rapid expansion of NK cells. Its innovative process takes a small number of white blood cells from healthy donors obtained from peripheral blood and produces the quantity of NK cells necessary for patient treatment, achieving this with unparalleled speed while maintaining the desired phenotype and functionality. CiMaas’ lead product are naked NK cells targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia and for solid tumors, it is developing CAR-NK cells.
Contacts for Combotope Therapeutics: For Media & Investor Relations: Klas Ola Blixt, CEO, T: +46 76 148 68 38; E: olablixt@combotope.com
Contacts for CiMaas: For Media & Investor Relations: Gerard Bos, CEO T: +31 6 10 71 19 14, E: gerardmjbos@cimaas.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
This Media Release contains forward-looking statements. Words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” and similar expressions identify these statements. Actual results or performance may differ materially due to factors including risks associated with pre-clinical and clinical product development, uncertainties in clinical trials, manufacturing, market acceptance, growth management, and technology developments. Combotope Therapeutics and CiMaas do not commit to updating these forward-looking statements unless required by law.