On March 4, 2019 NantKwest, Inc.(Nasdaq:NK), a leading clinical-stage Natural Killer (NK) cell based therapeutics company, and ProMab Biotechnologies reported the establishment of a worldwide license to a B-Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA) targeted antibody sequence for multiple myeloma along with an option for up to five undisclosed targeting sequences for exclusive use in the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) based NK cell therapies (Press release, NantKwest, MAR 4, 2019, https://ir.nantkwest.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nantkwest-signs-worldwide-license-agreement-promab?field_nir_news_date_value[min]=2019 [SID1234533934]).

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"We are pleased to announce this collaboration with ProMab Biotechnologies, marking another milestone for NantKwest in the development of targeted, next generation, NK cell therapeutics against multiple myeloma and other cancers," said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO of NantKwest. "With an estimated five-year survival rate of around 49% and accounting for 10% of all hematological malignancies, patients with multiple myeloma are in critical need for more effective treatment options. We believe, NantKwest’s CAR-based NK cell therapy may represent a much needed new treatment option for these patients. We eagerly anticipate growing our relationship with ProMab and accelerate the development of these new and innovative, next-generation off-the shelf, CAR-based NK cell therapies."

"ProMab’s strategic focus is on the development of monoclonal antibodies and their application in cell therapy through the integration of next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, high-throughput screening technologies, and novel in vitro in vivo validation tools. This new partnership allows NantKwest to leverage the breadth of our monoclonal antibody generation and validation platform, our human antibody library screening capabilities, together with NantKwest’s strong NK cell engineering, manufacturing, and clinical expertise," said John Wu, President and CEO of ProMab Biotechnologies. "We look forward to working together with the NantKwest team to more rapidly bring new NK cell therapeutics into the clinic."

Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a debilitating blood cancer that while treatable is usually considered incurable, resulting in over 100,000 deaths annually on a worldwide basis. Representing a significant unmet medical need, without treatment, survival is typically less than one year. Even with treatment, which typically involves the use of chemotherapy, steroids, targeted therapy, and in some cases, stem cell transplant, survival often can only be extended to 4 to 5 years. The BCMA protein is important in B cell development and preferentially expressed in mature B lymphocytes. BCMA protein is also believed to be involved in the development of multiple myeloma and other blood cancers and is an important target for drug development.