NEW YORK and SÖDERTÄLJE, Sweden, March 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anocca AB (Anocca), a leading T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) cellular therapeutics company, and EmendoBio Inc. (EmendoBio), a nuclease discovery and gene editing therapeutics company, today announced a non-exclusive licensing agreement for the use of EmendoBio’s novel OMNI-A4 nuclease to accelerate the manufacture and development of Anocca’s deep pipeline of TCR-T cell therapies for difficult-to-treat solid cancers.
“Integrating EmendoBio’s nuclease into our manufacturing process supports Anocca’s aim of generating the highest-quality cell therapy products. This next-generation gene editing system provides the precision and efficiency needed to scale out production of our growing libraries of TCR-T products in a high-precision manufacturing process. We are excited to work with EmendoBio to develop gene-edited TCR-T cell therapies as we prepare for our first clinical program targeting the KRAS driver mutation in a hard-to-treat solid cancer” said Anocca’s CEO and co-founder, Reagan Jarvis.
“This non-exclusive licensing agreement marks a significant milestone in the field of T cell therapy,” said Dr. Ei Yamada, Director of EmendoBio. “Together with Anocca, we are embracing the shared vision of harnessing the potential of gene editing and cellular therapies to make a profound impact on patient outcomes. Our combined expertise will unlock novel avenues for therapeutic development and push the boundaries of what's possible in advanced medicine.”
Anocca recently received certification of GMP compliance and a manufacturing license from the Swedish regulators for their cell therapy production facility, the largest in the Nordics. EmendoBio’s technology strengthens Anocca’s manufacturing capability and provides a foundation for the ambitious goal of reaching more patients faster with personalised treatments targeting the underlying genetic drivers of hard-to-treat cancers. The licensed gene editing technology is part of EmendoBio’s portfolio of proprietary nucleases developed to be highly active and specific for cell therapy applications.
Anocca’s and Emendo’s commitment to innovation and scientific excellence sets the stage for a promising future in T cell therapies. The agreement not only underscores the significance of collaborative efforts in the biotechnology sector but also reinforces both companies' dedication to improving global healthcare outcomes.
Notes to editors
About EmendoBio
EmendoBio is a next-generation CRISPR gene editing company leveraging its proprietary technology to enable high precision gene editing, which is critical for the development of safe medical applications of genome editing. Driven by cutting-edge computational biology, novel gene editing strategies, and the latest of protein engineering tools, EmendoBio’s novel nuclease discovery platform, OMNI, broadens the targetable range of the genome, while its target-specific optimisation platform enables highly precise editing that maintains high efficiencies.
EmendoBio’s proprietary OMNI nucleases also are designed to reduce "off-target” effects, i.e., cleavage at locations other than the targeted genes. Achieving such pinpoint precision is a substantial challenge for genome editing therapies.
The capabilities of the OMNI technology platform, along with deep expertise in genomic medicine and protein engineering, provide EmendoBio with a unique advantage when addressing indications, including within haematology, cardiovascular, ophthalmology, oncology, and other disease areas.
About Anocca
Anocca is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company developing libraries of T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies to redefine the treatment of solid tumours. Its proprietary technologies have been designed to vastly expand TCR-T development, allowing the systematic generation of treatments for the broadest patient populations that equip the immune system against the most difficult to treat solid cancers.
Anocca operates an advanced research and development infrastructure, underpinned by a custom software ecosystem and in-house clinical manufacturing and process development facilities. Its unique discovery platform uses programmable human cells to recreate and manipulate T cell immunity.
Follow Anocca on LinkedIn and visit www.anocca.com.
Media Inquiries
Anocca AB
Mark Farmery, CDO
media@anocca.com
Scius Communications (for Anocca AB)
Katja Stout
Tel: +44 7789 435 990
katja@sciuscommunications.com
Daniel Gooch
Tel: +44 7747 875 479
daniel@sciuscommunications.com
EmendoBio Inc.
Naoya Satoh, CEO
Tel: +81 3 5730 2630
nsato@emendobio.com
Noa Wertheimer
Tel: +972 54 6437741
noaw@emendobio.com
