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Adicet Bio, Inc. is a publicly held biotechnology company (Nasdaq: ACET) discovering and developing allogeneic gamma delta T cell therapies for cancer and other diseases. Adicet is advancing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” gamma delta T cells, engineered with chimeric antigen receptors and T cell receptor-like targeting moieties to enhance selective tumor targeting, facilitate innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune response, and improve persistence for durable activity in patients.
Nohla Therapeutics is a cellular therapy company driven to provide leading off the shelf therapies for patients with critical diseases. Nohla’s first product is a universal donor cell therapy targeting hematopoietic recovery and chemotherapy induced neutropenia, and is being extended to treat a range of other medical indications. This and other products in the pipeline are based on a unique umbilical cord blood expansion platform developed at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Epizyme is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and plans to commercialize innovative personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers. We systematically identify the genetic alterations that create cancer causing genes, called oncogenes, select patients in whom the identified genetic alteration is found, and then design small molecule therapeutic product candidates to inhibit the oncogene. The clinical development plan for each of our therapeutic product candidates is directed towards patients with a particular genetically defined cancer. Our approach is part of a broader trend towards personalized therapeutics based on first identifying the underlying cause of a disease affecting specific patient populations, applying rational drug design tools to create a therapeutic to inhibit a molecular target in the identified disease pathway, and using a companion diagnostic to select the right patients for treatment. We have built a proprietary product platform that we use to create small molecule inhibitors of a 96-member class of enzymes known as histone methyltransferases, or HMTs. Genetic alterations can result in changes to the activity of HMTs, making them oncogenic. When Epizyme was founded, we recognized that the HMT class of enzymes might contain many potential oncogenes and presented the opportunity to discover, develop and commercialize multiple personalized therapeutics. We have prioritized 20 of the 96 HMTs as attractive targets for personalized therapeutics based on their oncogenic potential. Our two most advanced therapeutic product programs target the HMTs DOT1L (for the treatment of acute leukemias with genetic alterations of MLL) and EZH2 (for a genetically defined subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and solid tumors including INI1-deficient tumors). We believe that our ongoing Phase 1 adult trial for EPZ-5676, targeting DOT1L, is the first clinical trial of an HMT inhibitor. In May 2014, we initiated a Phase 1b clinical trial for EPZ-5676 in pediatric patients with MLL-r leukemia, which is considered to be the last largely untreatable pediatric acute leukemia. We are also conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of EPZ-6438, which is being developed for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and solid tumors including INI1-deficient tumors such as synovial sarcoma and malignant rhabdoid tumors, or MRT. We were founded in 2007 and are led by a management team with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. We have entered into therapeutic collaborations with Celgene, Eisai and GSK that have provided us with approximately $184 million in non-equity funding. As of June 30, 2014, we had $232.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivables.
Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global clinical stage biotechnology company developing and commercializing precision, cell-targeting investigational therapies on its IlluminoxTM platform, which, in pre-clinical studies have been shown to induce rapid and selective cell killing and tumor necrosis. Outside of Japan, Illuminox therapies have not yet been approved as safe or effective by any regulatory authority. The company`s first drug developed on the Illuminox platform, ASP-1929, has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, and is currently the subject of a global phase 3 clinical trial for recurrent head and neck cancer. Rakuten Medical is committed to its mission to conquer cancer and aims to realize a society where cancer patients can lead fulfilling lives. The company has 6 locations in 5 countries, including the United States, where it is headquartered, Japan, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Switzerland.
Cogent Biosciences is a biotechnology company developing real solutions to treat genetically driven diseases. With a focus on rational drug discovery and development, we are leveraging validated biology to advance precision therapies designed to address the true underlying drivers of disease and provide real hope for patients. Cogent`s lead therapeutic candidate, PLX9486 (expected to be named CGT9486 in the future), is a precision kinase inhibitor designed to selectively and potently inhibit the KIT D816V mutation. This mutation is responsible for driving a rare and serious condition called Systemic Mastocytosis which can severely impact many different tissues and organs in the body. We are also studying PLX9486 to treat advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), which have a strong dependence on oncogenic KIT signaling.