Kite and Shoreline Biosciences Form Strategic Partnership to Develop Novel Allogeneic Cell Therapies

Kite, a Gilead Company, and Shoreline Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology firm developing intelligently designed allogeneic off-the-shelf, standardized, and targeted natural killer (NK) and Macrophage cellular immunotherapies achieved from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) for cancer and other serious diseases, announced a strategic partnership today to develop novel cell therapies across a variety of indications.

The collaboration will combine Shoreline’s profound experience in iPSC differentiation and genetic reprogramming with Kite’s extensive cell therapy development, commercialization, and manufacturing capabilities to develop new allogeneic candidates for a variety of hematologic malignancies. The collaboration will initially focus on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK targets, with Kite having the option to expand the partnership to include an iPSC CAR Macrophage program for an undisclosed target to be picked after the deal is completed. This agreement comes on the back of Kite’s investment in Shoreline’s recent Series A financing.

“As the pioneer in cell therapy, we are focused on investing in and delivering on the most promising possibilities to improve cell therapy’s therapeutic potential further,” said Mert Aktar, Kite’s Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy. “We are excited about the potential of Shoreline’s next-generation approach to allogeneic development, as well as how our partnership might accelerate this research across various leukemias and lymphomas.”

“Through this strong partnership, we are thrilled to strengthen our relationship with Kite, which is at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy for more than ten years,” said Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., Shoreline Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO. “The combination of Kite’s experience in CAR T-cell therapies with our cutting-edge iPSC platform has the potential to accelerate Shoreline’s timeline to the clinic, expand our pipeline opportunities, and offer transformative cancer treatment options.”

According to the terms of the agreement, Shoreline will get an initial payment and will be eligible for further payments totaling more than $2.3 billion, as well as royalties based on the accomplishment of specific development and commercial milestones.

About Shoreline Biosciences
Shoreline is a biotechnology firm committed to developing intelligently designed allogeneic off-the-shelf, targeted, and standardized cellular immunotherapies for cancer and other severe illnesses. Shoreline is building a pipeline of natural killer (NK) cell and macrophage-cell treatment options based on its extensive knowledge of iPSC differentiation methods and genetic reprogramming of disease-relevant pathways.

About Kite
Kite, a Gilead Company, is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with commercial manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe. Kite’s sole focus is on cell therapy to treat and possibly cure cancer. As the pioneer in cell therapy, Kite has more authorized CAR T indications to help more patients than any other company.