SQZ Biotechnologies has expanded its collaboration with Roche to develop products for oncology indications using cellular therapy.
The two companies previously collaborated in 2015 to develop therapeutics derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
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Under the new collaboration, the two companies will develop and market drugs based on antigen presenting cells (APCs) developed using SQZ platform for various oncology indications.
SQZ is entitled to receive an upfront payment of $125m, along with milestone-based payments of up to $250m. It may also receive more than $1bn in development milestone payments.
US-based SQZ is a biotechnology company developing cell therapies, while Roche is a healthcare company based in Switzerland.
The two companies may share the commercial rights to approved products developed under the collaboration.
Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals has received small business innovative research funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for developing nano antibody (nAb) therapies for the treatment of sepsis.
The grant will be used to develop nAb-based treatments targeted at ‘cytokine storm’, which is the initial inflammatory response in the pathogenesis of sepsis.
nAbs are easy to produce and stable fragments of antibodies. They possess the ability to penetrate tumours as well as tissues.
Allele is a biomedical research and therapy development company based in the US, while NIGMS is a unit of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the US Department of Health.
Immugenyx has signed an agreement with Janssen Research & Development to develop a model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using its advanced hematopoietic chimeras (AHC).
AHC is a new model of humanised mouse, which is being used as a platform for drug development.
Immugenyx will provide non-exclusive, worldwide license to Janssen to use the AHC for its internal research and development activities, under the agreement.
Located in the UK, Immugenyx is a pharmaceutical company focused on cell and immunotherapies and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals. Janssen is a US-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that focuses on research and development of new drug treatments and therapies.
Berkeley Lights has raised $95m in a financing round led by Nikon.
The funding round also included participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Walden-Riverwood Ventures, Black Diamond Ventures, and Paxion Capita. New investors, including Cota Capital, KTB Network, Atinum Investment, Shangbay Capital, AJS BioTree Healthcare Fund, and Varian also participated in the round.
Berkeley will use funds raised for the development and manufacturing of cell therapies, research and development activities and expanding its product portfolio.
Berkeley is a digital cell biology company based in the US, while Nikon is a Japanese a technology company.
Gotham Therapeutics has raised $54m in a series A funding round led by Versant Ventures, Forbion and SR One.
Celgene Corporation and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated in the funding round.
Gotham Therapeutics has developed a platform, which can study the effect of RNA-modifying proteins on diseases. The funding will allow Gotham to establish clinical proof of concept of the platform.
Located in the US, Gotham Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company involved in novel drug class targeting RNA-modifying proteins.
