Obsidian Therapeutics Announces Bristol Myers Squibb Opt-In of cytoDRiVE™ Cell Therapy Candidate

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies, today announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) has exercised its option to an exclusive worldwide license to a cell therapy candidate based on Obsidian’s cytoDRiVE™ technology for the controlled expression of the immunomodulatory factor CD40L. This announcement marks the first opt-in decision by Bristol Myers Squibb since the companies announced their collaboration to develop novel cell therapies in January 2019. Under the terms of the agreement, Obsidian is eligible to receive potential future milestone and royalty payments.

“We are very interested in exploring innovative approaches to developing engineered cell therapies, including the cytoDRiVE™ platform,” said Rupert Vessey, D. Phil., Executive Vice President, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. “By controlling the expression of armed payloads like CD40L, Obsidian’s cell therapy candidates may have the potential to overcome tumor microenvironment resistance and unlock the power of cell therapy in solid tumors and other malignancies.”

“This announcement marks an important milestone validating Obsidian’s cytoDRiVE™ platform, and we look forward to continuing to work with Bristol Myers Squibb to bring powerful new immunotherapies to patients,” said Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian Therapeutics. “We are also pleased with the pace with which our own pipeline programs are progressing as we continue to advance our lead controllable tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy to the clinic.”

About Obsidian Therapeutics
Obsidian Therapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients with intractable diseases. Obsidian’s proprietary cytoDRiVE™ technology provides a way to control protein degradation using FDA-approved small molecules, permitting precise control of the timing and level of protein expression. The cytoDRiVE™ platform can be applied to design controllable intracellular, membrane and secreted proteins for cell and gene therapies as well as other applications. The Company’s initial applications focus on developing novel cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Obsidian is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.obsidiantx.com.

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SOURCE Obsidian Therapeutics