Senti Biosciences Inc., (NASDAQ: SNTI), a San Francisco-based biotech company, has announced a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Shanghai-based Celest Therapeutics Co., Ltd. The partnership will see Celest manage a pilot clinical trial in mainland China for Senti’s SENTI-301A, an off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy targeting GPC3-expressing tumors. Senti will provide technical support while Celest oversees manufacturing, clinical development, and operations.
Expanding Clinical Development and Commercial Rights
The collaboration may extend to the Greater China territory, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, with Celest holding commercial rights within that expanded territory. The deal terms include potential milestone payments of up to USD 156 million from Celest to Senti, plus tiered royalties on future sales. The announcement led to a 78% surge in Senti’s stock value.
Pilot Study and Patient Recruitment
Celest aims to recruit the first patient for the mainland China pilot study in the first half of 2024, targeting nine patients with advanced glypican 3 (GPC3)-expressing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) across two dose cohorts. The study’s objectives are to assess safety and establish dosage for SENTI-301A. GPC3 antigen is highly expressed in 70%-90% of HCC tumors, making it a significant target, while it has little or no expression in normal tissue.
SENTI-301A’s Synthetic Biology Platform and Immuno-stimulatory Payload
SENTI-301A is developed on Senti’s proprietary synthetic biology platform, Gene Circuits, and includes calibrated release interleukin-15 (crIL-15), an immuno-stimulatory payload designed to stimulate surrounding immune cells and promote CAR-NK cell expansion, persistence, and tumor killing. Having completed preclinical testing, SENTI-301A has demonstrated robust in vitro and in vivo killing of relevant tumor cells.-Fineline Info & Tech
