BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Nov. 5 Company Quick Takes: Takeda licenses MD Anderson CAR NK cell portfolio; plus Myriad, Canbridge, BioCryst-Torii and Strongbridge

November 6, 2019 1:10 AM UTC

MD Anderson, Takeda partner for CAR NK cell therapies
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK) to develop and commercialize up to four allogeneic CAR NK cell therapies, including CD19 and BCMA-targeted therapies engineered to express IL-15 for enhanced proliferation and survival in vivo. MD Anderson will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive milestones and tiered royalties. The CD19-targeted therapy is in Phase I/IIa testing for relapsed and refractory B cell malignancies; Takeda plans to begin a pivotal study of the therapy in 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Separately, Takeda gained $660 million by divesting a portfolio of about 20 OTC and non-core prescription products in Russia and six other countries to Stada Arzneimittel AG (Xetra:SAZ)...