On November 4, 2021 Catamaran Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies to treat cancer, reported that it has designated CAT-179, a HER2-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy, and CAT-248, a CD70-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy, as its first preclinical development programs (Press release, Catamaran Bio, NOV 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234594524]). The company also announced that data supporting the CAT-248 program will be presented during a poster session at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) which will be held virtually and in person in Atlanta from December 11-14, 2021.

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At ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper), Catamaran will present data demonstrating the successful deployment of its proprietary TAILWIND platform to generate a CAR-NK cell therapy which demonstrates high levels of cytotoxicity against various tumor cell lines. Catamaran’s TAILWIND platform provides an integrated CAR-NK solution that includes technology to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, CAR architectures optimized for NK cells, and non-viral transposon engineering for efficient manufacturing of CAR-NK cell therapies. The ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) presentation will focus on preclinical data supporting CAT‑248, Catamaran’s allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapy directed against CD70, a tumor antigen that is highly expressed on certain types of cancers, including renal cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. This work is a collaboration between Catamaran and the lab of Dr. Branden Moriarity, scientific co-founder of Catamaran and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

"The unveiling of our initial two development programs demonstrates Catamaran’s rapid progress toward delivering off-the-shelf CAR‑NK cell therapies capable of reaching solid tumors," said Alvin Shih, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Catamaran Bio. "The new preclinical data we will be presenting at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) demonstrate the viability and potential of our TAILWIND platform to enable a leading-edge solution for skillfully designing and efficiently manufacturing CAR-NK cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are excited to continue advancing our lead programs toward the clinic, as we seek to extend the transformative potential of cell therapy to patients with solid tumors."

The details of Catamaran’s presentation at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2021 are as follows:

Title: Engineering CD70-Directed CAR-NK Cells for the Treatment of Hematological and Solid Malignancies
Poster session: Abstract 1691, Session 703, Cellular Immunotherapies: Basic and Translational
Date and time: Saturday, December 11, 2021, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Hall B5 at Georgia World Congress Center and via virtual meeting registration
Presenters: Eugene Choi (Principal Scientist, Catamaran Bio) and Celeste Richardson (SVP Research, Catamaran Bio)