Glycostem Therapeutics B.V. and medac GmbH are to partner to commercialize Glycostem’s lead product, oNKord.
oNKord is currently in a phase 1/2 clinical trial across 10 hospitals in five European countries.
Glycostem is a Dutch clinical-stage company focused on the development of therapeutic allogeneic off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cells, and medac is an international pharmaceutical company based in Germany.
Under the terms of the agreement, medac receives an exclusive license to commercialize oNKord in the EU, the UK and other European countries for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma (MM) patients.
Glycostem will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and through the manufacturing of oNKord a part of future revenues. Glycostem will also be eligible for payments upon achievement of certain development and sales milestones.
“This is our second commercialization agreement following the deal with inno.N for Korea and Japan. AML and MM patients desperately need new, safe and effective treatments, all over the world. This collaboration is of great importance as little is currently available for AML and MM patients and we are pleased to have been able to attract a partner in the caliber of medac,” said Troels Jordansen, CEO of Glycostem.
“Like Glycostem, medac is committed to developing novel therapies, especially in areas of unmet medical need such as AML and MM. We believe in the high potential of oNKord and look forward to providing patients in need with this new and innovative treatment,” said medac CBDO Heiner Will.
About Glycostem
By harnessing the power of stem cell-derived NK cells, Glycostem said its products are a safe alternative to CAR-T-cells. Its lead product, oNKord, is manufactured from allogeneic raw material and is available off-the shelf.
oNKord is produced in a closed system (uNiK) in Glycostem’s production facility in the Netherlands, from which it can be distributed globally. The production technology includes ex vivo generation of high numbers of NK-cells with a high degree of purity for clinical applications. oNKord successfully passed phase I clinical trial (elderly and frail AML patients).. Glycostem is furthermore developing a range of CAR-NK and TCR-NK products in-house and in cooperation with global partners.
About medac
medac is a privately held, global pharmaceutical company with a growing pharmaceutical and diagnostics business.
Since its foundation in Germany in 1970, medac has been specializing in the treatment of diseases within the indication areas oncology, hematology, urology and autoimmune disorders.