The Cancer Letter

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Drugs & Targets

MD Anderson, Affimed collaborate on immunotherapy combination

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MD Anderson and German-based Affimed N.V., announced an exclusive strategic clinical development and commercialization collaboration to evaluate Affimed’s TandAb technology in combination with MD Anderson’s natural killer cell product.

The technology to grow NK-cells from umbilical cord blood was developed at MD Anderson.

Collaborative studies will research, develop, and eventually commercialize novel oncology therapeutics resulting from this combination of products. MD Anderson will be responsible for conducting preclinical research activities aimed at investigating its NK-cells derived from umbilical cord blood in combination with Affimed’s lead NK-cell engager, the CD30- and CD16A-targeting TandAb AFM13. These are intended to be followed by a phase I study.

Affimed will fund research and development expenses for this collaboration and the agreement includes a provision for the potential expansion of the partnership. Affimed holds an option to exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any product developed under the collaboration.

AFM13 is a bispecific NK-cell TandAb simultaneously targeting CD16A on NK-cells and CD30 on tumor cells. AFM13 is designed to treat CD30-positive malignancies including Hodgkin lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma and is currently in phase II development in HL patients. Based on its safety profile, AFM13 is being developed both as monotherapy and in combination with other therapeutics such as Merck’s checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda.

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