PhoreMost, Oxford Biomedica Enter Discovery Collaboration for Next-Gen CAR-T Therapies

PhoreMost, a United Kingdom-based biopharmaceutical company, and Oxford Biomedica, a gene and cell therapy group, have entered into a discovery collaboration for the development of next-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies.

According to a Nov. 9, 2020 press release, the companies will use PhoreMost’s in-house expertise and next-generation phenotypic screening platform, SITESEEKER, to identify therapeutic candidates for Oxford Biomedica’s LentiVector gene therapy delivery system. Initially focusing on CAR-T therapies, the program aims to develop next generation cell therapies that provide improved efficacy and durability.

“This collaboration with Oxford Biomedica, a global pioneer in cell and gene therapies, is further recognition of the power of SITESEEKER, offering an exciting opportunity to discover and accelerate the development of clinical stage products,” said Dr. Chris Torrance, CEO, PhoreMost, in the press release. “The natural complementarity between SITESEEKER and LentiVector offers great promise for this and future collaborations between the two companies.”

John Dawson, CEO of Oxford Biomedica, added in the press release, “We are excited to apply this next-generation technology to our LentiVector platform. The collaboration has the potential to deliver more effective CAR-T therapies, and we look forward to working closely with the PhoreMost team.”

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Source: PhoreMost​