CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Catamaran Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies to treat cancer, today announced that it has designated CAT-179, a HER2-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy, and CAT-248, a CD70-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy, as its first preclinical development programs. The company also announced that data supporting the CAT-248 program will be presented during a poster session at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) which will be held virtually and in person in Atlanta from December 11-14, 2021.
At ASH, Catamaran will present data demonstrating the successful deployment of its proprietary TAILWIND™ platform to generate a CAR-NK cell therapy which demonstrates high levels of cytotoxicity against various tumor cell lines. Catamaran’s TAILWIND™ platform provides an integrated CAR-NK solution that includes technology to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, CAR architectures optimized for NK cells, and non-viral transposon engineering for efficient manufacturing of CAR-NK cell therapies. The ASH presentation will focus on preclinical data supporting CAT‑248, Catamaran’s allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapy directed against CD70, a tumor antigen that is highly expressed on certain types of cancers, including renal cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. This work is a collaboration between Catamaran and the lab of Dr. Branden Moriarity, scientific co-founder of Catamaran and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
“The unveiling of our initial two development programs demonstrates Catamaran’s rapid progress toward delivering off-the-shelf CAR‑NK cell therapies capable of reaching solid tumors,” said Alvin Shih, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Catamaran Bio. “The new preclinical data we will be presenting at ASH demonstrate the viability and potential of our TAILWIND™ platform to enable a leading-edge solution for skillfully designing and efficiently manufacturing CAR-NK cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are excited to continue advancing our lead programs toward the clinic, as we seek to extend the transformative potential of cell therapy to patients with solid tumors.”
The details of Catamaran’s presentation at ASH 2021 are as follows:
- Title: Engineering CD70-Directed CAR-NK Cells for the Treatment of Hematological and Solid Malignancies
- Poster session: Abstract 1691, Session 703, Cellular Immunotherapies: Basic and Translational
- Date and time: Saturday, December 11, 2021, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Hall B5 at Georgia World Congress Center and via virtual meeting registration
- Presenters: Eugene Choi (Principal Scientist, Catamaran Bio) and Celeste Richardson (SVP Research, Catamaran Bio)
About Catamaran Bio
Catamaran Bio is developing novel, off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cell therapies designed to treat a broad range of cancers, including solid tumors. Our proprietary capabilities enable us to harness the natural cancer-fighting properties of NK cells and enhance and tailor their effectiveness with the power of synthetic biology and innovative non-viral cell engineering. We are using our TAILWIND™ platform, an integrated suite of technologies, to specifically address the end-to-end methods of engineering, processing and manufacturing NK cells and rapidly advance our pipeline of CAR-NK cell therapy programs. Our team combines experienced biopharmaceutical leadership with founding scientists who are pioneers in NK cell biology, engineering, manufacturing and clinical application. Catamaran is backed by leading financial and corporate investors, including SV Health Investors, Sofinnova Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Takeda Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, and the UMN Discovery Capital investment program. For more information, please visit www.catamaranbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn and @CatamaranBio on Twitter.
