SIRION licenses innovative LentiBOOST™ technology for CAR-T medicines development

Martinsried, Germany: Global viral vector supplier Sirion Biotech GmbH (SIRION) announced that it licensed rights to use its proprietary LentiBOOST^™ lentiviral transduction enhancer technology to Massachusetts-based Beam Therapeutics for use in its CAR-T cell products.

CAR-T cell therapy represents a promising and future-defining shift in cancer treatment. Beam Therapeutics is developing a new generation of CAR-T product candidates using its own innovative base editing technology.

Transducing hard-to-transduce cell types

SIRION has engineered LentiBOOST^™ to improve lentiviral transduction of difficult cell types like T-cells and hematopoietic stem cells.

Under the terms of this agreement, SIRION agreed to provide Beam with non-exclusive access to LentiBOOST^™ for clinical development and commercialization of Beam’s portfolio of CAR-T programs. SIRION will be entitled to undisclosed upfront and milestone payments and is eligible to receive royalties on future product net sales plus license fees tied to commercial success.

Upscaling T-cell production

Dr. Christian Thirion, CEO and founder of SIRION Biotech GmbH explains: “LentiBOOST^™ was engineered to improve lentiviral transduction of difficult cell types like T-cells and hematopoietic stem cells. This technology enables robust upscaling of the T-cell production process, and helps to reduce manufacturing costs by lowering the number of lentiviral vectors needed for production of the cell product while at the same time improving clinical efficacy by increasing vector copy numbers (VCN) per cell,”

We are delighted that the LentiBOOST^™ technology may help Beam further enhance the clinical success of its CAR-T pipeline,” said Dr. Thirion.

SIRION Senior Vice-President for Business Development & Licensing, Dr. Sabine Ott, added: “LentiBOOST^™ is used in an increasing number of clinical trials in the US and in Europe and the technology is increasingly considered as a gold standard in manufacturing of cell products. Our non-exclusive licensing strategy makes our technology available to a wide range of companies and research hospitals to boost the efficiency of their various clinical programs.”

About SIRION Biotech

Founded at Martinsried, near Munich, in 2007, SIRION Biotech has become Europe’s leading commercial supplier of viral vectors used for genetic research, clinical target validation, cell and gene therapy and vaccination studies. It is SIRION’s mission to change the paradigm for viral vector supplies, with their ability to develop and supply all major viral vector types (adenovirus, lentivirus, AAV) within a matter of weeks at the concentration titres and quantities needed for preclinical human and animal testing.

Its unique focus on improving transduction efficiencies and safety makes SIRION Biotech a valuable technology partner for gene and cell therapy trials. LentiBOOST^™ transduction reagent is actively used to improve, among others, hematopoietic cell transductions in clinical trials. NextGen AAV capsid evolution projects aim to improve tissue targeting and immune escape of capsids to usher in a new generation of therapeutics for international gene therapy companies. SIRION offerings include the transformational RNAiONE^™ knockdown validation platform along with a full range of virus related services, ranging from particle production to virus driven cell modelling.

SIRION Biotech International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIRION Biotech GmbH providing custom engineering and manufacturing services of viral vectors for the life sciences industry.

Learn more at: www.sirion-biotech.com

About Beam Therapeutics

Based in Cambridge, MA, Beam Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BEAM) is a biotechnology company using gene base editing to develop precision genetic medicines.

Beam’s proprietary base editors create precise, predictable and efficient single base changes, at targeted genomic sequences, without making double-stranded breaks in the DNA. This enables a wide range of potential therapeutic editing strategies that Beam is using to advance a diversified portfolio of base editing programs.

Beam is a values-driven organization committed to its people, cutting-edge science, and a vision of providing life-long cures to patients suffering from serious diseases.

In February 202, Beam conducted a successful initial public offering (IPO) of 12,176,471 shares of common stock, raising aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $207 million,

Further information at: www.beamtx.com