SAN FRANCISCO & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cellevolve Bio (“the Company” or “Cellevolve”), a development and commercialization company focused on cell therapies and Seattle Children’s Therapeutics, a venture at Seattle Children's, bringing cutting edge, curative technologies and therapies to defeat pediatric cancer and other diseases that impact children, today announced a collaboration aimed at developing and commercializing a suite of novel multiplex CARs for the treatment of pediatric CNS malignancies. The collaboration utilizes Seattle Children’s renowned Cure Factory® facility for early clinical GMP research on novel CARs, and its new VectorWorks facility to expand lentiviral vector manufacturing for tailored cell therapy products. Additionally, Dr. Michael Jensen, acclaimed pediatric cancer research scientist, co-founder of leading cell therapy companies, Juno and Umoja, and Chief Therapeutics Officer at Seattle Children’s Therapeutics, will be named Cellevolve’s Founding Advisor and Chair, Scientific Advisory Board.
Cellevolve and Seattle Children’s Therapeutics will collaborate on advancing the BrainChild research program, which currently includes three pediatric Phase 1 clinical trials at Seattle Children’s – BrainChild-01, BrainChild-02 and BrainChild-03. Both organizations have agreed to an exclusive agreement in which Seattle Children’s Therapeutics will conduct early-stage discovery and pre-clinical, Phase 1 development while Cellevolve leads Phase 2 and subsequent clinical development with key Seattle Children’s Therapeutics involvement.
“Today is an exciting day for Cellevolve as we continue to grow our pipeline through this monumental collaboration with Seattle Children’s Therapeutics, a world class pediatric research organization with a demonstrated ability to translate promising research into novel therapies,” said Derrell Porter, MD, MBA, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cellevolve. “Cellevolve is thrilled to be able to work more closely with one of the brightest minds in cell therapy in Dr. Michael Jensen, an internationally recognized, pediatric hematologist-oncologist who has an unparalleled devotion to developing and testing promising T-cell treatments.”
Seattle Children’s Therapeutics will receive payments upon achievement of developmental milestones, and Cellevolve will provide financial support for early-stage discovery and preclinical development and Phase 1 clinical development. Seattle Children’s will also receive an equity stake in the company. Cellevolve will receive global license and worldwide rights to assets resulting from the collaboration. The funds will also help enable Seattle Children’s Therapeutics to launch a fourth BrainChild trial and invest in expediting its immunotherapy research to fulfill its vision of developing and testing next-generation cell and gene therapies like cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases that afflict children.
“Our initial therapeutic focus on pediatric CNS malignancies aligns with my lifelong devotion for developing novel therapies for children with life-threatening diseases who deserve futures full of promise,” said Michael Jensen, MD, Vice President and Chief Therapeutics Officer, Seattle Children’s Therapeutics. “I’m excited about the benefit this collaboration could bring towards fulfilling that aspiration.”
Childhood cancers are the leading cause of childhood mortality1 and data from Seattle Children’s Therapeutics’ Phase 1 studies will inform the development of future trials, including those targeting multiple proteins present on the surface of cancer cells. While the initial focus is on pediatric cancers, the collaboration allows for expansion to the adult CNS population.
Reference
- National Cancer Institute. (2022). Cancer in Children and Adolescents. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/types/childhood-cancers/child-adolescent-cancers-fact-sheet#:~:text=Although%20cancer%20in%20children%20and,the%20United%20States%20(1).
About Cellevolve
Cellevolve Bio is a development and commercialization company focused on cell therapies. The Company’s mission is to accelerate the revolution in cell therapy by translating innovation into commercially available treatments. Founded by leaders with extensive experience developing and launching therapeutics, Cellevolve understands that cell therapy innovations require unique and specialized capabilities to advance them to approval and beyond. The Company is addressing this need with its integrated CellutionTM clinical development and commercialization platform that translates breakthrough science from the world’s leading innovators into powerful new therapies for patients.
For more information, please visit: www.cellevolve.com.
Follow Cellevolve on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cellevolve/
About Seattle Children’s
Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Together, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Research Institute and Foundation deliver superior patient care, identify new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and raise funds to create better futures for patients.
Ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children’s serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country. As one of the nation’s top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children’s Research Institute is internationally recognized for its work in neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious disease, injury prevention and much more. Seattle Children’s Foundation, along with Seattle Children’s Guild Association – the largest all volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the country – works with our generous community to raise funds for lifesaving care and research.
For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or on our On the Pulse blog.
