Teneobio & Poseida Announce License Agreement for the Use of UniDab in CAR T-Cell Therapy

Teneobio, Inc. and Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced they have entered a commercial license agreement for the use of Teneobio’s UniDabs, single-domain, human heavy chain only antibodies in Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Under the terms of the agreement, Poseida has commercial rights to UniDabs against a cancer specific antigen for its proprietary CAR T-cell therapy programs. Teneobio will receive an upfront payment, potential clinical milestones and royalties on commercial sales world-wide. Financial terms were not disclosed.

According to Wim van Schooten, CSO of Teneobio, “This agreement further validates the utility of UniDabs in CAR T-cell therapy. In the last year, we have made excellent progress in identifying and advancing UniAbs, best-in-class human heavy chain only antibodies from our proprietary UniRat transgenic platform, for bi- and multi-specific antibody therapeutics with great manufacturability. Ultimately, the greater specificity of bi- and multivalent CARs will enable the pursuit of solid tumor CAR T-cell therapy.”

Eric Ostertag, CEO of Poseida, added “We are looking forward to working with Teneobio’s UniDab technology, which shares many of the advantages with and will complement the Centyrin technology that we previously licensed from Janssen. When combined with our industry-leading piggyBac Gene Delivery System and NextGEN CRISPR technology, UniDabs may become a key component of our wholly-owned allogeneic CAR-T program, which has shown exceptional results in preclinical studies.

Teneobio, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a new class of biologics, Human Heavy Chain Antibodies (UniAbs), for the treatments of cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases. Teneobio’s discovery platform, TeneoSeek, comprises genetically engineered animals (UniRat and OmniFlic), next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics and high-throughput vector assembly technologies. TeneoSeek rapidly identifies large numbers of unique binding molecules specific for therapeutic targets of interest. Versatile antibody variable domains (UniDabs) derived from UniAbs can be assembled into multi-specific and multivalent therapeutic proteins, surpassing limitations of conventional antibody therapeutics. Teneobio’s “plug-and-play” T-cell engaging platform includes a diverse set of anti-CD3 antibodies for therapeutics with optimal efficacy and reduced toxicity. For more information, contact Omid Vafa at ovafa@teneobio.com or visit www.teneobio.com

Poseida Therapeutics is translating best-in-class gene-editing technologies into lifesaving treatments. The company is developing CAR T-cell immunotherapies for multiple myeloma and other cancer types, as well as gene therapies for orphan diseases. Poseida has assembled a suite of industry-leading gene editing technologies, including the piggyBac DNA Modification System, XTN TALEN and NextGEN CRISPR site-specific nucleases, and Footprint-Free Gene Editing.
For more information, visit www.poseida.com.