Imugene and Kincell Bio Enter Strategic Partnership for Manufacturing and Process Development
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Imugene, Ltd. (ASX: IMU) and Kincell Bio, LLC have announced a strategic partnership focusing on manufacturing and process development. The agreement involves Imugene selling its Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) manufacturing facility in North Carolina to Kincell, along with transferring process and analytical development activities.
Under the asset purchase agreement, Kincell will acquire Imugene’s CGMP-compliant cell therapy manufacturing facility for a total consideration of up to $6 million USD, comprising upfront and milestone-driven payments. Both companies have also signed a manufacturing supply agreement, wherein Kincell will manufacture Imugene’s Azer-cel to support ongoing clinical trials. Imugene will additionally transfer process and analytical development of Azer-cel to Kincell to facilitate optimization for commercial readiness.
Leslie Chong, Imugene’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, expressed excitement about the partnership, anticipating its potential to advance Imugene towards key data milestones and extend its cash runway until 2026. Chong also emphasized the opportunity for Imugene to concentrate on its core capabilities in cancer treatment development while collaborating with former manufacturing colleagues in a new role as a contract development and manufacturing organization partner.
Bruce Thompson, CEO of Kincell, highlighted the acquisition's significance in expanding their service offerings for cell therapy developers. He pointed out the facility's location in Research Triangle Park (RTP) as advantageous for accessing talent in the biotech hub and emphasized the potential of the partnership to advance an allogeneic CAR T product candidate into later-stage development to address significant medical needs.
The 32,800-square-foot CGMP-compliant facility, equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, is poised for expansion in capacity and scope to support cell-based therapy manufacturing. Kincell plans to leverage its expertise to evolve site capabilities and manufacture a diverse portfolio of autologous and allogeneic products.
Source: globenewswire.com
