Astellas Pharma Inc. and Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Xyphos Biosciences, Inc., and Poseida have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement to develop novel convertibleCAR® programs by combining the innovative cell therapy platforms from each of the companies.
Poseida is advancing differentiated cell and gene therapies with the capacity to cure certain cancers and rare diseases. In oncology, its pipeline includes allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy product candidates for both solid and liquid tumors that address patient populations with high unmet medical need. Xyphos utilizes a novel and proprietary ACCELTM technology platform that uses its convertibleCAR® (convertible Chimeric Antigen Receptor) in combination with proprietary MicAbodies to target tumor cells. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies plan to combine Poseida's proprietary allogeneic CAR-T platform with Xyphos' ACCELTM technology to create one Poseida-developed CAR-T construct to form the basis of two convertibleCAR® product candidates targeting solid tumors. Xyphos will reimburse Poseida for costs incurred as part of the research agreement and will be responsible for the development and future commercialization of products generated from the collaboration. Poseida will receive USD 50 million upfront plus potential development and sales milestones and contingency payments of up to USD 550 million in total. Additionally, Poseida is eligible for up to low double digit tiered royalties as a percentage of net sales.