Novartis, TScan Therapeutics partner on cell therapies for solid tumors
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Novartis has reached an agreement with biopharmaceutical company TScan Therapeutics to develop new autologous T-cell receptor therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.
The partnership will allow Novartis to leverage TScan’s proprietary platform that uses genome-wide, high-throughput screening to identify of novel cancer antigens that can be targeted by T-cell receptor therapies.
TScan will receive an upfront technology access fee plus $30 million in research funding from Novartis. Also included in the deal are potential milestone payments to TScan that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars depending on the development, approval and sales achievements of any clinical product.
“This collaboration strengthens the ability to bring T-cell therapies to patients based on TScan’s proprietary discovery platform,” David P. Southwell, MBA, CEO and president of TScan, told Healio. “The therapeutics that are licensed to Novartis will supplement those being developed by TScan for the treatment of liquid and solid tumors. In addition, the upfront and milestone payments are transformative for TScan.”
TScan’s pipeline includes preclinical research for hematologic malignancies and early target discovery phase research for solid tumors, according to Southwell.
Novartis will have the option to license and develop T-cell receptors for up to three novel target antigens identified by the TScan technology.
“Our work with Novartis is focused on renal cell carcinoma,” Southwell told Healio. “TScan will be free to develop therapeutics from targets that aren’t picked by Novartis,” which includes the company’s work with solid tumors outside of renal cell carcinoma.
TScan’s lead program (TSC-100) for hematologic malignancies should enter clinical development in 2021 as the company continues to develop T-cell receptor therapy targets for solid tumors, according to Southwell.
His company expects to file two investigational new drug applications with the FDA in 2021 for its liquid tumor program, with INDs for solid tumors to be filed the following year.
“The most powerful weapon against cancer is the human immune system,” Southwell told Healio.
“If we can learn what [patients’] T cells are recognizing on their cancer cells, we can use that information to reprogram the T cells of other [patients with cancer] and provide life-changing therapies,” he added. “The central idea at TScan is to learn from patients who are winning their fight against cancer to treat those who are not.” – by Drew Amorosi
Disclosure: Southwell is president and CEO of TScan Therapeutics.