Bluebird Bio, Celgene in Gene Therapy R&D Pact

Bluebird Bio has entered a strategic collaboration with Celgene to discover, develop and commercialize disease-altering gene therapies in oncology focused on genetically modifying T-cells, known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, to target and destroy cancer cells. Bluebird will be responsible for R&D through Phase I studies, at which point Celgene has an option to license any products resulting from the collaboration.
 
Financial terms include an undisclosed upfront payment and as much as $225 million per product in potential option fees and clinical and regulatory milestones. Bluebird also has the right to participate in the development and commercialization of any licensed products through a 50/50 co-development and profit share in the U.S. in exchange for a reduction of milestones. Royalties would also be paid in regions where there is no profit share including in the U.S. if Bluebird declines co-development and profit sharing rights.
 
“The genetic manipulation of autologous T-cells is a new frontier in oncology, one that shows early promise in emerging clinical trials,” said Tom Daniel, president, research and early development at Celgene. “We see strong prospects for this collaboration between Celgene, Bluebird Bio and Baylor College of Medicine’s experienced leaders in this emerging field, led by Dr. Brenner, to advance this innovative approach to intractable problems in oncology.”
 
“We believe that our recent advances in the industrialization of our gene therapy platform will drive improvements in the potency, purity, efficiency and scalability of our lentiviral gene therapy programs. These advances provide us with an opportunity to apply our platform, intellectual property and know-how to the development of additional product candidates in indications such as CAR T-cells for cancer,” said Nick Leschly, chief executive officer of Bluebird Bio. “Celgene is a global leader in oncology and, combined with Baylor’s expertise in the CAR T-cell field, we have created a great opportunity to drive innovation in a new and exciting area.”