KaliVir Immunotherapeutics, Inc. announced a collaboration and global exclusive licensing agreement with Roche for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel oncolytic vaccinia viruses derived from KaliVir’s oncolytic immunotherapy VETTM platform.
KaliVir will work with Roche to leverage KaliVir’s proprietary technology platform based on genetically modified vaccinia virus to discover and develop novel oncolytic virus candidates. KaliVir’s VETTM platform can enhance the vaccinia viral backbone with a combination of proprietary genetic modifications to maximize tumor killing and systemic delivery and spread, and can be readily optimized to combine with a wide variety of therapeutic transgenes.
Under the terms of the agreement, KaliVir will generate oncolytic vaccinia virus product candidates derived from the company’s VETTM platform expressing Roche proprietary therapeutic transgenes. Roche will have exclusive license to discover, develop and commercialize the products worldwide. KaliVir will receive an upfront payment, and may be eligible to receive research, development and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on commercial sales of products emerging from the collaboration.
“We are extremely excited to work with Roche and its excellent scientific team to identify and develop novel, innovative treatments for cancer patients worldwide,” said KaliVir CEO Helena Chaye. “Our VETTM platform is a powerful engine for identifying novel, innovative oncolytic immunotherapies, and we look forward to further expanding its potential and our broader discovery research capabilities through this discovery collaboration.”
“Roche has been discovering and developing breakthrough treatments in oncology for more than 50 years. Building on our strong internal pipeline, we are continually looking for partnerships to foster the discovery and development of innovation to fundamentally change how we deliver care for patients now and in the future,” stated James Sabry, Global Head of Pharma Partnering at Roche. “KaliVir and its promising VETTM platform represent an excellent example of exciting, cutting-edge technologies that we believe could make a difference for cancer patients.”