MD Anderson and Phoenix SENOLYTIX in Cross-Licensing Deal to Advance Cell and Gene Therapies

MD Anderson and Phoenix SENOLYTIX announce strategic cross-licensing agreement to enhance inducible switch technologies for cell and gene therapies.

• Agreement focuses on rimiducid, an agent used to activate certain safety switch technologies in cell therapies
• Phoenix receives a supply of rimiducid and support to seek regulatory approval of a new proprietary injectable formulation, retaining exclusive rights for use in its novel in vivo gene therapy programs
• MD Anderson receives rights to the new formulation of rimiducid for use with its inducible switches exclusively in ex vivo cell therapies
• Collaborators hope to use these tools to further enhance cell and gene therapies

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Phoenix SENOLYTIX, today announced a global cross-licensing agreement to facilitate work that will further enhance the development of inducible switch technologies for use in cell and gene therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Phoenix will receive a supply of rimiducid from MD Anderson and support for seeking regulatory approval of a new proprietary formulation that can be delivered via intramuscular or subcutaneous (IM/SC) injection as opposed to intravenous infusion. MD Anderson receives exclusive rights to Phoenix’s new formulation of rimiducid for use with its inducible switch technologies in its cell therapy platforms.

Rimiducid is a therapeutic agent used to activate inducible switch technologies, including the CaspaCIDe (inducible caspase-9, iCasp9, or iC9) safety switch as well as GoCAR-T, GoTCR, GoDCVaX and Dual Switch technologies acquired by MD Anderson from Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. The switches and rimiducid can be used as a safety feature to regulate the activity of cell and gene therapies.

“While we have had very promising safety results with our engineered cell therapies, it is critical that we include effective technologies to rapidly eliminate transduced cells in the event of treatment-related toxicities. We look forward to working with Phoenix to continue developing these important technologies to enhance our cell therapy programs,” said Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and vice president and head of the Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery and Innovation at MD Anderson.

MD Anderson’s Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery and Innovation is focused on developing and advancing impactful cell therapy for patients in need.

Its researchers have incorporated the CaspaCIDe safety switch into multiple cell therapy programs, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapies. The institution has also made the inducible switch technologies available via non-exclusive licenses to other academic institutions and biopharmaceutical companies.

The CaspaCIDe technology was originally developed by David Spencer, Ph.D., a co-founder of Phoenix who served as the scientific founder of Bellicum. Phoenix has now developed its proprietary ApoptiCIDe platform, an evolution of the original technology specifically designed to work with the new rimiducid formulation. The platform is capable of being incorporated into both cell and gene therapies, and Phoenix has utilized this technology for its lead products, which are designed to accomplish purposeful in vivo elimination of targeted cell populations in aging and obesity-related disorders.

“We are excited about the broad medical opportunities presented by the dimerizer applications that would be enhanced with this new formulation of rimiducid. This reflects a potentially major advance that should further expand the adoption of cell and gene therapies,” said Spencer, chief technology officer at Phoenix.

In addition to the cross-license agreement, Phoenix and MD Anderson have agreed to establish a scientific advisory board to inform the continued development of these products for MD Anderson’s cell therapy programs. Members from Phoenix will include Spencer, Daniel Jasinski, Ph.D., and Kevin Slawin, M.D., the founder of both Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and Phoenix SENOLYTIX. MD Anderson members will include Rezvani and two additional experts to be named.

About Phoenix SENOLYTIX

Phoenix SENOLYTIX is a longevity company using advanced technologies to develop novel gene therapies targeting the fundamental mechanisms of aging. Its lead programs are based on its two novel gene therapy platforms, ApoptiCIDe-CE, its purposeful cell elimination gene therapy platform, and ApoptiCIDe-RGT, its regulated gene therapy platform. Both utilize proprietary enhanced cell elimination switch technology originally developed as CaspaCIDe by Bellicum Pharmaceuticals for use in T cells. Phoenix is headquartered in Miami, FL with research facilities located in Houston, TX.

About MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education, and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world, and, in 1971, it became one of the nation’s first National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers. MD Anderson is No. 1 for cancer in U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings and has been named one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer since the rankings began in 1990. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

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