Cellular Biomedicine Group, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based biomedicine company engaged in the development of cellular therapies for degenerative and cancerous diseases, has acquired Chinese PLA General Hospital's (PLAGH, Beijing, also known as 301 Hospital) Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy; its recombinant expression vector CD19, CD20, CD30 and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor's (EGFR or HER1) Immuno-Oncology patents (all pending); and phase I/II clinical data of the aforementioned therapies and manufacturing knowledge.
CAR-T cell therapy involves engineering cancer patients' own immune cells to recognize and attack their tumors. Wei Dong Han, M.D., Ph.D., head of PLAGH's biotherapy department, has conducted several preliminary clinical studies of various CAR-T constructs targeting CD19-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, CD20-positive lymphoma, CD30-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma and EGFR-HER1-positive advanced lung cancer. The hospital consists of 125 clinical, medical and technological departments and 4,000 patient beds, with annual volumes of approximately four million patients and more than 65,000 surgeries.
Prior to acquiring PLAGH's technology, the company has made progress with recent acquisitions of Agreen Biotech and its T-Cell Memory technology (Tcm), T Cell Receptor clonality analysis technology, as well as another third generation CAR-T, anti-PD-1, CD19 and aAPC cancer immunotherapy technologies from Persongen Biotechnology. Together with PLAGH's technology, Cellular Biomedicine Group's state-of-the art infrastructure and clinical platform, along with these acquired technologies, will enable improvement of cancer immune cell therapies and strategic combination therapies, which will boost the company's Immuno-Oncology presence and pave the way for future partnerships.
"This is the beginning of a long-term strategic partnership between Cellular Biomedicine Group and PLAGH. Together, we will expeditiously continue our quest in developing safer and more effective cancer immunotherapy programs with leading hospitals and other partners," said Dr. William (Wei) Cao, CEO of Cellular Biomedicine Group.
