On October 25, 2022 Cullinan Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGEM), a biopharmaceutical company focused on modality-agnostic targeted oncology, reported that it has increased its ownership in its Cullinan MICA, Inc. (MICA) subsidiary from 54% to 92% (Press release, Cullinan Oncology, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622335]). MICA holds the worldwide rights to CLN-619, an antibody that restores the MICA/MICB pathway to promote tumor cell lysis from both cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells. CLN-619 is being investigated as both monotherapy and in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy in an ongoing Phase I study in patients with advanced solid tumors. Cullinan increased its ownership by purchasing equity from two of MICA’s financial investors, Avalon Ventures and Bregua Corporation, for $30.7 million. The Myeloma Investment Fund, a venture philanthropy fund for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), maintained its ownership in the entity.
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"Cullinan Oncology has acquired additional ownership in the MICA subsidiary as part of our overall strategy to deploy our robust financial resources for pipeline investment, acceleration, and expansion," said Nadim Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Cullinan Oncology. "This investment recognizes the strategic importance of CLN-619 in our portfolio as a key asset with first-in-class potential and strong rationale for development in a broad range of cancer indications. We are excited by the potential of this unique approach to cancer treatment, and we remain committed to our mission to create new standards of care for patients with cancer."
"One of the hallmarks of cancer is the ability to avoid destruction by immune cells. CLN-619 is designed to overcome immune evasion by promoting NK cell-mediated tumor cell lysis and facilitating engagement of certain classes of T-cells. This differentiated mechanism activates both the innate and adaptive immune system, providing strong rationale to target the MICA/MICB pathway as a novel approach with potential to treat patients with cancer," said Jeff Jones, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Cullinan Oncology. "Given MICA/MICB are broadly expressed across tumor types, we are committed to investigating CLN-619 across a range of malignancies, and we look forward to reporting initial clinical data from our ongoing Phase I clinical study in mid-2023."
About CLN-619
CLN-619 is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to MICA and MICB, ligands expressed on a wide variety of hematological and solid tumors that are recognized by both cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells via their NKG2D receptors. To evade lysis by these immune cells, tumor cells shed MICA/MICB from their cell surface. CLN-619 promotes an antitumor response through multiple potential mechanisms of action, including prevention of the proteolytic cleavage of MICA/MICB from cancer cells, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and enhancement of MICA/MICB binding to NKG2D. Multiple studies evaluating serum samples from cancer patients have demonstrated that high serum levels of shed MICA correlate with poor prognosis. CLN-619 is being studied in an ongoing Phase I dose escalation and expansion trial both as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab. The study design allows dose level extensions as well as expansion in tumor specific cohorts. The trial was initiated in December 2021, and initial clinical data is anticipated in mid-2023.