ArsenalBio Announces Expansion of Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to Advance T Cell Therapy in Solid Tumors

Bristol Myers Squibb exercises option to initiate new program under the December 2020 agreement

Strategic collaboration combines ArsenalBio’s programmable cell therapy approach with Bristol Myers Squibb’s expertise in cell therapy and oncology drug development

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arsenal Biosciences, Inc., a privately held programmable cell therapy company engineering advanced CAR T therapies for solid tumors, today announced that Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) has exercised an option to initiate a new program, expanding its strategic collaboration with ArsenalBio to discover and advance next-generation T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.

“The decision by Bristol Myers Squibb to expand our collaboration and add another program is a testament to the strength of our partnership and the promise of ArsenalBio’s proprietary technology,” said Ken Drazan, M.D., Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ArsenalBio. “We look forward to continuing this fruitful relationship and working together to advance next-generation T cell therapies so we can ultimately achieve our mission – help more patients defeat cancer.”

Under the collaboration, ArsenalBio is discovering and building preclinical candidates against multiple targets, and Bristol Myers Squibb has the option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize preclinical candidates. Through the terms of the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb has exercised an Expansion Option to initiate a new program, triggering an additional undisclosed financial milestone payment to ArsenalBio. Following exercise of a subsequent License Option, Bristol Myers Squibb is solely responsible for developing and commercializing the licensed candidates. ArsenalBio will remain eligible to receive additional payments associated with collaboration expansion, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as potential royalties on sales of approved products.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with ArsenalBio as we work to advance the next generation of cancer therapies leveraging their unique therapeutic platform,” said Teri Foy, Senior Vice President, Research and Early Development Immuno-Oncology and Cell Therapy, Bristol Myers Squibb. “Unlocking the promise of cell therapy with application to solid tumors is a key aspect of our R&D strategy at BMS as we strive to help more patients across a broad range of cancers.”

Through the multi-year collaboration, ArsenalBio continues to deploy its full stack of synthetic biology compositions to build programmable cell therapy product candidates based on its PrimeR™ logic gates, CARchitecture™ chimeric antigen receptor libraries, multi-target gene expression controls, and CITE™ mediated nonviral manufacturing. Combined, these integrated circuit-modified T cells offer the promise of significantly improved outcomes for patients.

About ArsenalBio

Arsenal Biosciences, Inc., located in South San Francisco, CA, is a privately held programmable cell therapy company discovering and developing a pipeline of next generation autologous T cell therapies to defeat cancer. Our full stack R&D engine generates multifunctional T cell medicines, enabled by precise and specific CRISPR insertion of large synthetic DNA sequences. ArsenalBio is building the industry’s largest DNA library of therapeutic enhancing integrated circuits. These integrated circuits incorporate logic gating for improved tumor targeting and synthetic features which enable multiple pharmaceutical functions. With our programmable and computationally driven approach and nonviral clinical manufacturing, we aim for enhanced and broader efficacy, increased patient safety, reduced stakeholder costs and expanded market access. To learn more, visit www.arsenalbio.com and follow us on Twitter @ArsenalBio, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Heidi Chokeir, Ph.D.
Canale Communications
619-203-5391
heidi.chokeir@canalecomm.com