Kusatsu/Shiga, Japan — June 21, 2016 – Takara Bio Inc. announces that it has entered into a License and Supply Agreement with Kite Pharma, Inc. (“Kite”), United States, under which Takara Bio grants Kite a commercial license to use applicable patents relating to RetroNectin®. Under this agreement, Takara Bio also provides Kite with reliable supplies of RetroNectin®. Takara Bio now has ten licensees permitted to use RetroNectin® patents commercially.
The patented technologies licensed to Kite are based on Takara Bio’s proprietary RetroNectin® method, which includes a technology enabling highly efficient gene transduction to cells by retrovirus vector and expansion of T-cells with high efficiency. With such advantages, RetroNectin® method is now becoming increasingly standard in protocols utilized for “Engineered T-cell Therapy”, which includes promising TCR and CAR gene therapies recently raising higher expectations.
Kite is advancing clinical development of several Engineered T-cell Therapy product candidates. Under the agreement signed with Takara Bio, Kite is allowed to use RetroNectin® for production of its most advanced product candidate, KTE-C19, a therapy in which a patient’s T cells are genetically engineered to express a CAR designed to target the antigen CD19 for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias.
Takara Bio is promoting supply of RetroNectin® to clinical development of Engineered T-cell Therapy actively pursued worldwide in recent years, and expects higher sales growth in the future.
