Tech Transfer Round-Up

Start-up hopes to bring its first candidate, an NY-ESO-1-targeting off-the-shelf product, into the clinic in Q2. Astex and Cardiff University team up on novel therapies for neurodegenerative disease.

Immix collaborates with Israeli research institutions on BCMA-targeted CAR-T therapy. NeoImmuneTech/NIAID alliance could pave way for “animal rule” approval in acute radiation syndrome.

MD Anderson and the US National Cancer Institute lead the way with a series of recent alliances, highlighted in this special edition of Tech Transfer Roundup focused on oncology.

Plus agreements involving Hansoh/GHDDI, BriaCell/UMBC, Novartis/UC Berkeley, NeoPhore/Memorial Sloan Kettering, GEn1E/UM-Baltimore, ValoTx/University of Helsinki and Sosei/Cancer Research UK.

Amylyx is funding research at the Sunnybrook Research Institute to investigate Bax and Bak inhibition in neurodegenerative disease. Repertoire looks into HPV+ cancer with Memorial Sloan Kettering.

National Resilience, Parker Institute team to incubate cancer startups. Metropolitan AntiViral Drug Accelerator will focus on eight molecular features of SARS-CoV-2 to create novel oral antivirals.

French biotech brings candidate for Gaucher and Parkinson’s disease in-house under 2020 pact with Weizmann. Cellevolve, Seattle Children’s partner on cell therapies for CNS cancers.

Plus deals involving Neumora/Vanderbilt, Active Biotech/Oncode, and Bridge/Scripps.

Seven international translational research bodies recommend five actions to help better prepare for future outbreaks. Plus an overview of recent COVID-19-focused collaborations.

MD Anderson teams with Eisbach on precision oncology and with Yingli on a five-year translational research effort. Moffitt inks tie-ups with Dyve and Turnstone.

Athenex expands its portfolio of T-cell receptor therapy technology under NCI license agreement; PDS Biotechnology accesses institute’s TARP tumor antigen technology.

$47.5m partnership between the foundation and Broad researchers will mine genetic data for insights into disease mechanisms. MD Anderson, Nuvectis each unveil multiple new tie-ups.

BioMed X teams with J&J on inflammation, drug delivery research. Stem cell firm Calidi inks licensing deals with U. of Chicago, City of Hope and Northwestern. MD Anderson teams with Blueprint and Hummingbird.

The intellectual property, also held by Eureka, may offer a new pathway for treating relapsed MM patients. Sorrento inks cancer partnerships with Karolinska Institutet and Mayo Clinic.

The firms hope academic research can yield first-in-class therapies and spinout companies. Also, Yale unveils research alliances with three biotechs.

Taysha gains control of GAN candidate and program; BI licenses COMT inhibitors from Lieber Institute; plus three new gene therapy-driven tie-ups between biopharma and academia.

The center is partnering with Obsidian to make autologous TILs work better after being infused back into patients by using IL-15, which may be less toxic than the high-dose IL-2 currently used.

In tandem with buying the rest of Kleo, Tonix licenses molecular degradation technology from Yale. Neurogene, University of Dundee partner on cell therapies for neurological disorders.

NIH’s National Cancer Institute licensed two experimental cancer therapies in the past month to biopharma firms, leading a heavy slate of cancer-focused tech transfer deal-making.

Cancer deals involve City of Hope/Chimeric, CARISMA/NYU, Sorrento/Mayo Clinic, Rain/Drexel, Diaprost/Memorial Sloan Kettering, Alkido/University of Kentucky. Plus, research collaborations in brief.