Pfizer announces cancer immunotherapy alliance with Cellectis

Pfizer has announced that it will be allying with Cellectis in a global strategic collaboration in the field of cancer immunotherapies.

The companies will work together to create new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapies directed at selected oncology targets, leveraging Cellectis' advanced genome editing and cell engineering capabilities and Pfizer's biotherapeutic cancer therapy platform.

Pfizer has exclusive rights to pursue development and commercialisation of CAR-T therapies directed at a total of 15 targets it has selected. Both firms will collaborate on preclinical research, with Pfizer taking charge of further development of any therapies for its own targets.

The agreement also provides for a total of 12 targets selected by Cellectis. Both companies will work together on preclinical research on four Cellectis-selected targets, for which Pfizer has right of first refusal, while Cellectis will work independently on eight additional targets.

Dr Mikael Dolsten, president of research and development at Pfizer, said the alliance "creates a world-class partnership designed to deliver a new generation of CAR-T immunotherapies for cancer patients with urgent medical needs".

This comes in the same week the company announced the launch of a new 280,000 sq ft research and development hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which will augment its scientific capabilities.