On June 28, 2021 Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLCM), a leader in developing novel, controllable cellular immunotherapies for cancers, reported it has entered into a license agreement with the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNC Lineberger) and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) covering certain intellectual property and technology rights regarding the company’s CaspaCIDe (inducible caspase-9, or iC9) safety switch and related technologies, and the use of rimiducid (Press release, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584392]). CaspaCIDe may facilitate the use of cell therapies where cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicities have been observed, in the pursuit of novel targets with on-target/off-tumor safety concerns, and in conjunction with next generation higher potency cell therapy constructs.

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This agreement with UNC Lineberger and Mass General covers four CAR-T programs incorporating Bellicum’s technology currently in development, two of which are owned by UNC Lineberger and two of which are co-owned by both institutions. Under this agreement, upon out-license of each program to an industry partner, Bellicum will receive an upfront payment and be entitled to a percentage of certain consideration paid to the institutions by the industry partner and a single digit percent royalty on the global sales of the product. Additional details of the financial arrangements are not disclosed.

"We are thrilled by the opportunity to expand the impact of our CaspaCIDe technology to benefit patients through this agreement with leading oncology research and treatment centers of excellence," said Rick Fair, President and CEO of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. "We believe the agreement reflects the potential value of our switch technology, which may enhance the benefit/risk profile of cell therapies. We continue to incorporate the technology into our internal programs and intend to make it more broadly available via external collaborations."

"The unique inducible caspase-9 technology covered by this agreement has the potential to improve the safety profile of cellular immunotherapies, reduce the risk of serious adverse events, and improve patient outcomes," stated Gianpietro Dotti, M.D., Co-leader, Immunology Program, UNC Lineberger. "We are pleased to incorporate Bellicum’s CaspaCIDe into four of our promising cell therapy constructs."

About CaspaCIDe

CaspaCIDe (inducible caspase-9, or iC9) is Bellicum’s chemical induction of dimerization (CID) safety switch technology designated to eliminate cells in the event of toxicity. The CaspaCIDe switch consists of the CID-binding domain coupled to the signaling domain of caspase-9, an enzyme that is part of the apoptotic pathway. Infusion of rimiducid is designed to trigger activation of this domain of caspase-9, which in turn leads to selective apoptosis of the CaspaCIDe-containing cells. In clinical studies, use of CaspaCIDe has resulted in clinical improvement in most patients as early as 24 hours after rimiducid administration. Further, because CaspaCIDe is designed to be permanently incorporated into Bellicum’s cellular therapies, the safety switch has the potential to be available for use when needed long after the initial therapy is delivered.