Kite Pharma, Roche to co-develop two new treatments for non-hodgkin lymphoma

pharmafile | March 18, 2016 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development Gentech, Roche, kite pharma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma 

Kite Pharma (Nasdaq: KITE) said it will collaborate with Swiss drug major Roche (SIX: ROG) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its drug compound in combination with KTE-C19, in combination with atezolizumab to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

The company said it expects to start multi-center Phase I/ II study with Genentech, a unit of Roche, in 2016. 

Arie Belldegrun, chief executive of Kite, says: “Kite is a pioneer in engineered T cell therapy, and we are excited to collaborate with Genentech, an industry leader with a history of developing transformative therapies for cancer. KTE-C19 is currently in four pivotal studies and early clinical findings have shown a potential for breakthrough efficacy in refractory, aggressive NHL and other B cell malignancies.  The scientific rationale for combining KTE-C19 and atezolizumab in refractory, aggressive NHL is compelling, and could potentially lead to opportunities to advance this combination in other indications.”

KTE-C19 is an investigational immunotherapy in which a patient’s T cells are genetically modified to express a CAR designed to target the antigen CD19, a protein expressed on the cell surface of B cell lymphomas and leukemias.  Atezolizumab is an investigational monoclonal antibody designed to target and bind to a protein called PD-L1, which is expressed on tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells.  

Anjali Shukla

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