Kite Pharma Expands Development of T-Cell Receptor (TCR) Therapies Targeting HPV-Associated Cancers in Partnership with the National Cancer Institute
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Kite Pharma, Inc. announced that it has entered into a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch (ETIB) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the research and clinical development of T-cell receptor (TCR) product candidates directed against human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 E6 and E7 oncoproteins for the treatment of HPV-associated cancers.
Under the CRADA, NCI will evaluate a novel TCR therapy candidate targeting HPV-16 E7 as a monotherapy and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in HPV-16 associated solid tumors. This Phase 1/2 clinical study will be led by Christian S. Hinrichs, M.D., from the ETIB and lead investigator of this CRADA. The NCI will also continue to advance a separately designed TCR therapy candidate targeting HPV-16 E6, currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, under an existing CRADA between Kite and the Surgery Branch of the NCI, led by Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D.
"TCR therapies allow targeting of viral oncoproteins that are not effectively addressed with other existing therapeutic modalities. HPV-16 E6 and E7 TCR therapies hold the potential to address the significant unmet medical need that exists in HPV-associated cancers," said Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, Kite's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to collaborate with the network of talented investigators at the NCI as we advance our HPV-associated cancer therapy pipeline."
Source : kitepharma.com
