Wugen Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel universal natural killer (NK) and T-cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, has announced that it has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Shanghai-based Alpha Biopharma Inc. to manufacture, develop, and commercialize its allogeneic cell products in Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan region and Singapore.

The products included in the agreement incorporate Wugen's proprietary technology to manufacture universal "off-the-shelf" Memory NK and CAR-T cells for the treatment of solid tumors, T-cell malignancies, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and Multiple Myeloma.

"We are looking forward to collaborating with the experienced and accomplished team at Alpha Biopharma, a company committed to the clinical development of innovative drugs in China," said John McKearn, Ph.D., CEO of Wugen. "This agreement represents a significant milestone for Wugen's clinical progress as it allows us to extend our pipeline of novel cell therapies to geographies with substantial unmet needs and position our clinical programs for expedited global approvals."

"This collaboration will generate significant synergies in both clinical development and future commercialization. We will bring Wugen's leading next-generation cell therapies to China to fulfill the tremendous unmet medical need in combating cancer," said Eric Zhang, CEO of Alpha Biopharma.  "We will leverage our strength to accelerate clinical development, manufacturing, and regulatory activities in China now and commercialization upon approval."

Per the agreement, Alpha Biopharma will be responsible for the development and commercialization of the products in the defined territory, including manufacturing, clinical, regulatory, marketing and sales activities. Alpha Biopharma and Wugen will equally share profits and losses related to the development and commercialization of products in the territory, as well as sharing data to support territory and global approvals.  

Currently approved cellular therapies have been shown to effectively treat B-cell cancers, but there remains a significant unmet need for treating other cancers. Wugen is using its proprietary platform to manufacture "off-the-shelf" Memory NK and CAR-T therapies, providing several advantages over current autologous therapies, including robust manufacturing, lower cost of goods, and enhanced safety profile.