Xyphos Biosciences Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc., and Kelonia Therapeutics have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement to develop novel Immuno-Oncology therapeutics.
 
Kelonia is a biotech company pioneering new genetic medicines using its in vivo gene placement system (iGPS), which uses next generation lentiviral particles to efficiently deliver genetic cargo precisely to the desired target cells inside the patient’s body.
 
Xyphos holds a novel and proprietary ACCEL technology platform that uses its convertibleCAR (convertible Chimeric Antigen Receptor) on immune cells.

Developing In Vivo CAR-T Cell Therapies

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies plan to combine Kelonia’s iGPS with Xyphos’ ACCEL technology to develop innovative in vivo CAR-T Cell therapies targeting up to two programs.
 
Xyphos will be responsible for the development and commercialization of products created from the collaborative research. Kelonia will receive $40 million upfront for the first program, and an additional $35 million should Xyphos exercise its options for the second program, and potential milestones and contingency payments approaching $800 million in total. Additionally, Kelonia will receive R&D funding for work performed in the collaboration and is eligible for tiered royalties on net sales up to the double digit percentage.
 
Kevin Friedman, Ph.D., CEO and Founder of Kelonia, said: “Our iGPS platform has the potential to be a step change in the treatment of cancer. Combining Kelonia’s in vivo gene delivery capabilities with the ACCEL convertible CAR technology is an ideal marriage of technologies to create off-the-shelf, universal CAR-T Cell therapies. We see revolutionary promise in this approach, and will work diligently with our partners at Astellas to unlock its full potential for patients that need it most.”
 
Adam Pearson, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO) of Astellas, added: “At Astellas, we have a strong commitment to developing novel treatments for patients with cancer and have positioned Immuno-Oncology as a Primary Focus of our R&D strategy. With iGPS, Kelonia has an elegant, cutting-edge in vivo delivery technology, and by combining with the ACCEL platform, we believe the collaboration will bring synergies between the two companies’ breakthrough research and will ultimately lead to expansion of Astellas’ portfolio and to delivery of innovative in vivo CAR-T cell therapies to cancer patients.”