JW therapeutics to receive exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize ACE1702 and ACE1655 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
Acepodia to receive upfront and milestone payments in addition to royalties on sales
SAN FRANCISCO and TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acepodia, a biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies based on its novel Antibody-Cell Conjugation (ACC) technology platform and JW Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on the development, transformation and promotion of cell immunotherapy, have announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize ACE1702 and ACE1655, two of Acepodia’s cell therapy candidates for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, respectively, in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Acepodia will receive upfront and milestone payments in addition to royalties on sales.
Acepodia’s allogeneic cell therapy platform is based on optimizing its proprietary, potent and off-the-shelf natural killer cell line (oNK cells) with tumor-targeting mechanisms through its antibody-cell conjugation (ACC) technology that links antibodies directly to the surface proteins of immune cells to enhance their tumor-killing ability.
“We are excited to partner with Acepodia to advance NK cell-based therapies through the clinic, with the goal of eventually introducing these innovative therapies to patients. Acepodia has applied a broad and integrative approach to providing more potential clinical treatment options for solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, with the ability to scale up production of these targeted cell-therapies, as needed,” said James Li, M.D., chief executive officer of JW Therapeutics.
Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Acepodia added, “This partnership perfectly captures the synergies between Acepodia and JW Therapeutics. By combining our research capabilities and novel cell therapy platform with JW Therapeutics’ translational cancer immunology research and development capacity, this collaboration is aptly suited to develop and commercialize our oNK cell therapies in these regional markets. We look forward to working with JW Therapeutics to advance these therapies through the clinic, maximizing their allogeneic and ‘off-the-shelf’ treatment potential.”
About Acepodia
Acepodia is a privately held U.S.-Taiwan biotechnology company reshaping the field of cell therapies through a flexible and integrated approach to biologic design with a primary focus on oncology. The Company’s platform is rooted in its proprietary off-the-shelf natural killer cell line (oNK) that has been selected for its potent anti-tumor activity. Acepodia’s drug development platform is designed to augment oNK cells’ tumor affinity through both chimeric antigen receptor technology and its unique ACC (Antibody-Cell Conjugation) technology that links tumor-targeting antibodies to the surface proteins of oNK cells.
About JW Therapeutics
JW Therapeutics was founded in February 2016 in Shanghai. As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development, transformation and promotion of leading cell immunotherapy, JW Therapeutics aims to become the innovation leader in the industry. The company is committed to collaborating with both local and international peers to build a world-class leading innovation platform for cell immunotherapy, to create the industry standard and ecosystem together, and to benefit Chinese patients and those around the world.
The company has put into place a mature and stable process development system as well as the advancing cGMP manufacturing quality control system. It has obtained the first approval for the clinical trials of CAR-T product targeting CD19 with the largest number of patient enrollment under the IND pathway, which enhances its leading position in clinical studies of CAR-T in China.
Investor Contact
Spike Lo
Acepodia
886 (2) 2697-6100
spike@acepodiabio.com
Media Contact
Michael Tattory
LifeSci Communications
1 (646) 751-4362
mtattory@lifescicomms.com