Caring Cross and ImmunoAdoptive Cell Therapy (ImmunoACT) Announce Agreement to Commercialize TriCAR-T Cell Immunotherapy for Leukemia and Lymphoma

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May 07, 2024, 08:00 ET

Agreement allows ImmunoACT to develop and commercialize a novel TriCAR-T cell therapy for leukemia and lymphoma designed to decrease lapses seen in current single CAR-T cell therapies and improve outcomes

GAITHERSBURG, Md. and MUMBAI, India, May 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Caring Cross, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and enabling access to cures for all patients, everywhere, and ImmunoAdoptive Cell Therapy (ImmunoACT), a Mumbai, India-based pioneering research and cell and gene therapy development company, announced an agreement to develop and commercialize a multi-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy for leukemia and lymphoma. The TriCAR-T immunotherapy is designed to address relapse that can occur when patients with Leukemia or Lymphoma are treated with a single targeting anti-CD19 CAR T-cell product. Under the terms of the agreement, Caring Cross will provide a TriCAR-T cell immunotherapy for clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization at ImmunoACT's facilities in India.

ImmunoACT is developing an array of CAR-T therapeutic assets at various stages of clinical maturity to address oncological indications and autoimmune disorders. Its lead candidate, NexCAR19 (Actalycabtagene autoleucel), was recently approved as India's first CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of r/r B-cell lymphomas and leukemia by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). It is a first-of-its-kind product that has given patients in India access to this lifesaving, leading-edge therapy at an affordable price.

"We are pleased to form this commercial partnership with ImmunoACT, which is committed to providing affordable and accessible CAR-T cell therapies for serious diseases like leukemia and lymphoma," said Caring Cross Co-Founder and Executive Director Boro Dropulić, Ph.D. "Our global partnership model aims to improve access for CAR-T cell therapies by developing CAR-T cell manufacturing technologies and providing therapeutic candidates that are affordable in countries like India. We are excited to work with ImmunoACT to commercialize a dedicated proprietary TriCAR-T cell therapy in India, which we anticipate will decrease the rate of relapse seen with current single targeted anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapies. We look forward to working closely with ImmunoACT to expand access to a commercial TriCAR-T cell therapy in India as part of our mission to further universal access and affordability of CAR-T therapies worldwide."

"We are delighted to work with Caring Cross to bring next generation CAR-T therapies to India, which will enable cost-effective local production and improved access to these advanced medicines " stated ImmunoACT's Founder and Professor at IIT Bombay, Rahul Puwar, Ph.D. "ImmunoACT's technical and commercial operations capabilities are well proven and with its network of partner hospitals across the country, this partnership has great potential to benefit thousands of patients in coming years."

About Caring Cross
Caring Cross is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and ensuring access to cures for all patients, everywhere. To enable its mission, Caring Cross is developing technologies and therapeutic candidates to improve the accessibility, affordability, and applicability of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) like CAR-T technology and stem cell gene therapy. Caring Cross founded Vector BioMed, a for-profit vector contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), specializing in rapid lentiviral vector manufacturing solutions, to provide the industry a source of affordable high-quality GMP Lentiviral vectors. For more information on Caring Cross visit https://caringcross.org/. For more information on Vector BioMed visit https://vectorbiomed.com/.

About ImmunoACT
ImmunoACT is a cell and gene therapy company that was incubated at IIT Bombay with a mission to provide affordable access to novel autologous CAR-T cell therapies for cancer treatment. It received Market Authorization from Central Drugs Standard Control Organization ("CDSCO") in October 2023 for its lead product, namely, Actalycabtagene autoleucel (hereinafter referred to as "NexCAR19"). With a rapidly expanding pipeline beginning with blood cancers, the Company is working to expand it portfolio in solid tumours and autoimmune disorders, enabling medical professionals to provide patients with effective cancer therapy as an alternative to traditional chemotherapy, biologics, and bone marrow transplants.