Altor, Shenzhen Beike Enter Immunotherapy Agreement In China
Altor BioScience, a U.S. firm developing novel cancer immunotherapies, and Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology, a Chinese cell-based therapy firm, announced that the companies have signed into a license agreement for the development and commercialization of immunotherapy ALT-803 in China.
ALT-803 is an Interleukin-15 (IL-15) based superagonist complex developed by Altor as an immunotherapeutic agent. ALT-803 has demonstrated its ability to avtivate immune responses against virally infected cells and hematologic and solid tumors. The immunotherapy is currently under investigation in four U.S.-based Phase I/II clinical trials in different cancer indications. Altor reports that its ALT-803 platform has previously received grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support the platform’s research and development.
Under the terms of the agreement, Beike will pay Altor an upfront fee of $4 million and in turn, will gain the exclusive license for the R&D, manufacture, and marketing of ALT-803 for treatment of all appropriate indications in China. Altor will also be eligible to receive more than $200 million in development and sales milestones as well as royalties based on sales. Beike acquires commercialization rights for all licensed products in China, while Altor retains marketing rights outside China. Beike reported that it has also made an estimated $5 million strategic equity investment in Altor.
Dr. Hing C. Wong, Altor’s founder and CEO, said that the company has been seeking to form commercialization partnerships for ALT-803. “Beike’s strong interest in developing novel cancer immunotherapies for the Chinese market and its extensive expertise with Chinese regulatory agencies in initiating and conducting clinical trials make Beike our ideal partner for bringing this revolutionary compound into clinical development in China.”
Dr. Xiang Hu, Beike’s founder and chairman, said, “Based on the results of Altor’s pre-clinical studies, we strongly believe ALT-803 will be a key therapeutic agent in the new generation of immune cell therapies and immunotherapeutic programs to help improve treatment options for incurable diseases.” Dr. Hu said that the company is looking forward to work with Altor to improve its own oncology pipeline and bring the drugs into the market in China.