Celgene, bluebird bio Partner on CAR-T Therapy

On March 28, 2018, bluebird bio, a clinical-stage gene therapy company, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Celgene to co-develop and co-promote bb2121, an investigational anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the potential treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in the United States.

Under the agreement, bluebird and Celgene have joint responsibility for development, manufacturing, and commercialization of bb2121 in the US. Celgene will assume sole responsibility for drug product manufacturing and commercialization outside the US. The companies are also working together on a second clinical-stage anti-BCMA CAR T program, bb21217. The companies originally entered into a broad, global strategic research collaboration in 2013 to discover, develop, and commercialize novel therapies in oncology, which included bb2121.

“Entering into this co-development and co-promotion partnership with Celgene is a significant step forward in building a fully integrated oncology franchise for bluebird and together, we are committed to rapidly advancing development of bb2121 for patients,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, PhD, oncology franchise leader and senior vice-president, corporate development and strategy, bluebird bio, in a company press release. “The collaboration builds upon our extensive research and development capabilities in oncology and is a testament to the strong partnership that exists between our two companies.”

“We are extremely pleased to advance our collaboration with bluebird on bb2121, and we believe this therapy has the potential to significantly impact the treatment approach and outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma,” said Nadim Ahmed, president, Hematology and Oncology for Celgene, in the press release.

Source: bluebird bio