ST. LOUIS, March 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Wugen Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel
universal natural killer (NK) and T-cell therapies for the treatment of
cancer, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license
and collaboration agreement with Shanghai-based Alpha Biopharma Inc. to manufacture, develop, and commercialize its allogeneic cell products in Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan region and Singapore.
The products included in the agreement incorporate Wugen's proprietary
technology to manufacture universal "off-the-shelf" Memory NK and CAR-T
cells for the treatment of solid tumors, T-cell malignancies, Acute
Myeloid Leukemia, and Multiple Myeloma.
"We are looking forward to collaborating with the experienced and
accomplished team at Alpha Biopharma, a company committed to the
clinical development of innovative drugs in China," said John McKearn,
Ph.D., CEO of Wugen. "This agreement represents a significant milestone
for Wugen's clinical progress as it allows us to extend our pipeline of
novel cell therapies to geographies with substantial unmet needs and
position our clinical programs for expedited global approvals."
"This collaboration will generate significant synergies in both
clinical development and future commercialization. We will bring Wugen's
leading next-generation cell therapies to China to fulfill the tremendous unmet medical need in combating cancer," said Eric Zhang,
CEO of Alpha Biopharma. "We will leverage our strength to accelerate
clinical development, manufacturing, and regulatory activities in China now and commercialization upon approval."
Per the agreement, Alpha Biopharma will be responsible for the
development and commercialization of the products in the defined
territory, including manufacturing, clinical, regulatory, marketing and
sales activities. Alpha Biopharma and Wugen will equally share profits
and losses related to the development and commercialization of products
in the territory, as well as sharing data to support territory and
global approvals.
Currently approved cellular therapies have been shown to effectively
treat B-cell cancers, but there remains a significant unmet need for
treating other cancers. Wugen is using its proprietary platform to
manufacture "off-the-shelf" Memory NK and CAR-T therapies, providing
several advantages over current autologous therapies, including robust
manufacturing, lower cost of goods, and enhanced safety profile.
About Wugen
Wugen is developing universal "off-the-shelf" cell therapy for
the treatment of cancer. Wugen was founded based on technology licensed
from Washington University in St. Louis. For more information, please visit www.wugen.com.
About Alpha Biopharma
Alpha Biopharma is an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to developing and integrating the most advanced treatments for
cancer patients. Its experienced and passionate executive team has
decades of clinical development and commercialization experience in China.
AlphaBio's lead product candidate, Zorifertinib, is in Phase II/III
clinical studies for EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC patients with CNS
metastasis. For more information, please visit www.alphabiopharma.com.