Cellectis and Servier Expand Collaboration on UCART19 Products
Cellectis granted Servier expanded exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize future CD19-targeting CAR T-cell products, including ALLO-501A.
French biotechnology company Cellectis and international pharmaceutical company Servier have agreed to expand their collaboration concerning the development of gene-edited CAR T-cell products, specifically UCART19.
Cellectis has granted Servier an expanded exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize all future gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cell products targeting CD19. This includes rights to ALLO-501A, a candidate where rituximab recognition domains have been removed. The agreement also allows for further sublicensing, including to Servier's US sublicensee, Allogene Therapeutics.
The expanded agreement includes an additional upfront payment to Cellectis of USD 27.6 million (EUR 25 million), as well as potential milestone payments up to USD 410 million (EUR 370 million) tied to clinical and commercial achievements. The deal also improves the royalty rates for Cellectis, increasing them to high single-digit percentages.
The collaboration builds upon an initial agreement from 2014, with prior modifications in 2019. The current expansion confirms a binding term sheet signed in February 2020. Cellectis focuses on developing allogeneic CAR T-cell-based immunotherapies.