WARREN, N.J., April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Celularity Inc. (“Celularity” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage company developing allogeneic cellular therapies from human placentas, today announced the expansion of its existing collaborative license agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation’s (Nasdaq: UTHR) wholly-owned subsidiary, Lung Biotechnology PBC, to include the treatment of COVID-19 and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
This announcement builds on recent pioneering work by Celularity for the use of its proprietary CYNK-001 for the treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, and extends this application of the technology to ARDS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared Celularity’s investigational new drug application (IND 019650) to evaluate CYNK-001’s safety, tolerability, and efficacy for the treatment of COVID-19.
ARDS, the most devastating complication of COVID-19, is a serious inflammatory lung injury that causes hypoxemia, or below-normal oxygen level in the blood. Hypoxemia can lead to multi-organ system failure and death. Recent findings indicate that ARDS may develop in as many as 17-29% of COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized with pneumonia.
Celularity founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Robert Hariri, said, “This promising, novel approach to treating COVID-19 and the pulmonary complications associated with this infection may unlock a powerful new therapeutic option for patients. The exceptional expertise in pulmonary disease, cellular medicine, and manufacturing makes this strategic collaboration particularly well suited to tackle this urgent, global medical crisis.”
Under the amended collaborative agreement, Celularity will seek regulatory approval for CYNK-001 in COVID-19, and Lung Biotechnology will seek regulatory approval for CYNK-001 in ARDS. Lung Biotechnology has global rights under the amended collaborative agreement to commercialize CYNK-001 in COVID-19 and ARDS. The collaboration will be governed by a Joint Steering Committee to oversee development and commercialization activities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Celularity’s CYNK-001 is the only cryopreserved allogeneic, off-the-shelf Natural Killer (NK) cell therapy being developed from placental hematopoietic stem cells and is being investigated as a potential treatment option for various hematologic cancers and solid tumors, and is the first cell therapy granted an IND to treat COVID-19. NK cells are a unique class of immune cells, innately capable of targeting cancer cells and virally infected cells and interacting with adaptive immunity. CYNK-001 cells derived from the postpartum placenta have been shown to be well-tolerated in early clinical trials and are currently being investigated as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), multiple myeloma (MM), and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Media and Investor Relations
Media Contact:
Factory PR
celularity@factorypr.com
Investor Relations Contact:
John R. Haines, Executive Vice President
john.haines@celularity.com
About Celularity: Celularity, headquartered in Warren, N.J., is a clinical-stage cell therapeutics company delivering transformative allogeneic cellular therapies derived from the postpartum human placenta. Using proprietary technology in combination with its IMPACT
platform, Celularity is the only company harnessing the purity and versatility of placental-derived cells to develop and manufacture innovative and highly scalable off-the-shelf treatments for patients with cancer, inflammatory, infectious, and age-related diseases. To learn more, please visit www.celularity.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual results, the outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. The information contained in this press release is believed to be current as of the date of the original issue. Celularity expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
SOURCE Celularity Inc.
