Lineage Cell Therapeutics announced that it has entered into an exclusive option and license agreement with Eterna Therapeutics for the development of novel beta 2 microglobulin, or B2M,-deficient induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC, lines, which Lineage will evaluate for development into differentiated cell transplant therapies. The new cell lines to be developed by Eterna will support the potential creation of additional product candidates at Lineage, specifically for the treatment of certain central nervous system, or CNS, disorders and other neurology indications. Eterna is the exclusive licensee of the key intellectual property underlying this collaboration from its discovery partner Factor Bioscience. Under the agreement, Eterna plans to conduct certain gene-editing activities and provide materials to Lineage for evaluation. The agreement provides Lineage an option to obtain an exclusive license to utilize and sublicense the novel gene-edited cell lines for preclinical, clinical, and commercial purposes in the field of CNS diseases. A feature of the starting cell line is the targeted deletion of the B2M gene, which is designed to reduce the immunogenicity of product candidates derived from the lines by inhibiting rejection by CD8+ T cells. Lineage expects this attribute will expand the edited cell lines’ overall utility, including for non-immune privileged or non-human leukocyte antigen matched indications. Additional planned gene edits may further differentiate the cell line from others currently in use by competitors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Published first on TheFly
