SANTA MONICA, Calif. & SAN DIEGO– Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD), and Shoreline Biosciences, Inc. (Shoreline), a biotechnology company developing intelligently designed allogeneic off-the-shelf, standardized and targeted natural killer (NK) and Macrophage cellular immunotherapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) for cancer and other serious diseases, today announced a strategic partnership to develop novel cell therapies across a variety of cancer targets.
The collaboration will leverage Shoreline’s deep expertise in iPSC differentiation and genetic reprogramming in combination with Kite’s extensive cell therapy development, commercialization and manufacturing expertise to develop novel allogeneic candidates for a range of hematologic malignancies. The collaboration will focus initially on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK targets, with Kite having an option to expand the collaboration to include an iPSC CAR Macrophage program for an undisclosed target to be selected post deal execution. This agreement follows Kite’s investment in Shoreline’s recent Series A financing.
“As the leader in cell therapy, we are focused on investing in and delivering on the most promising opportunities to further optimize the therapeutic potential of cell therapy,” said Mert Aktar, Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Kite. “We are excited about the potential of Shoreline’s next-generation approach to allogeneic development, and how our collaboration can accelerate this research across different leukemias and lymphomas.”
“We’re thrilled to strengthen our relationship with Kite, which has been at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy for over a decade, through this strategic partnership,” said Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., Shoreline Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO. “The combined strength of Kite’s leadership in CAR T-cell therapies and our cutting-edge iPSC platform will potentially accelerate Shoreline’s timeline to the clinic, expand our pipeline opportunities and deliver transformational treatment options for cancer.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Shoreline will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive additional payments totaling over $2.3 billion as well as royalties based on achievement of certain development and commercial milestones.
