Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company, have expanded the scope of their existing collaboration for CART-ddBCMA to include lymphomas.

Kite exercised its option to negotiate a license for Arcellx’s ARC-SparX program, ACLX-001, in multiple myeloma, which is comprised of ARC-T cells and SparX proteins that target BCMA. CART-ddBCMA uses D-Domain (DD), which is designed to improve target specificity while enhancing binding affinity, in lieu of a scFv antigen recognition motif. 

Arcellx will receive a $200 million equity investment to purchase shares of its common stock, which is expected to extend the company’s cash runway into 2027. Following the investment, Gilead’s estimated ownership will be 13%. Arcellx will also receive $85 million upfront and will be eligible for potential milestones, including the advancement of lymphoma and the license for ARC-SparX.

“Since entering into this strategic collaboration with Kite almost one year ago, we are thrilled with how the partnership is rapidly progressing and the alignment across our teams,” said Rami Elghandour, Arcellx’s Chairman and CEO. “Helping as many cancer patients as possible serves as the core of our collaboration. With the deep and durable responses demonstrated in our CART-ddBCMA Phase 1 trial in multiple myeloma, we believe that our novel synthetic binder, the D-Domain, underscores the potential to engineer a new class of CAR T therapies. We are excited to deepen our relationship with Kite as they continue to invest in our platform by exercising their rights to our ACLX-001 ARC-SparX program in multiple myeloma and increasing their investment in our company.”

“We are pleased to see the momentum with the CART-ddBCMA multiple myeloma program, enabling Kite to enter an area of high unmet need and bring a new, potentially best-in-class cell therapy to patients,” said Cindy Perettie, executive vice president of Kite. “Given this, we are deepening our relationship with Arcellx to further support advancement of CART-ddBCMA, bolster our pipeline in multiple myeloma, as well as access opportunities in lymphoma. In expanding our strategic partnership with Arcellx, we are building upon the established synergy between Arcellx’s platform technologies and Kite’s industry-leading position in CAR T manufacturing and commercialization.”