Adaptimmune Announces Collaboration with MSD to Evaluate KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Combination with NY-ESO SPEAR® T-Cell Therapy in Multiple Myeloma - Seite 2

The agreement is between Adaptimmune and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, through a subsidiary. Under the agreement, the trial will be sponsored by Adaptimmune. The agreement also includes provision for potential expansion to include Phase III registration studies in the same indication. Additional details were not disclosed.

About Multiple Myeloma 
Multiple myeloma is a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system, which is made up of several types of cells that work together to fight infections and other diseases. Multiple myeloma is characterized by several features, including low blood counts, bone and calcium problems, infections, kidney problems, monoclonal gammopathy, and others; and by the proliferation of these plasma cells within bone marrow. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 30,300 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2016. Average five-year survival rates are estimated to be approximately 45 percent with survival rates depending on factors such as age, stage of diagnosis and suitability for auto-SCT, which is used as part of the treatment for eligible patients with multiple myeloma. Despite recent therapeutic advances, multiple myeloma remains an incurable but treatable cancer. Patients are typically treated with repeat rounds of combination therapy with the time intervals to relapse becoming shorter with each successive line of therapy. The majority of patients eventually have a relapse which cannot be further treated.

About Adaptimmune's TCR Technology
Adaptimmune's proprietary SPEAR (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell receptor (TCR) technology enables the company to genetically optimize TCRs, equipping them to recognize cancer antigens that are presented in small quantities on the surface of a cancer cell, whether of intracellular or extracellular origin, thus initiating cell death. The company's differentiated, proprietary technology allows it to reliably generate parental TCRs to naturally presented targets, affinity optimize its TCRs to bind cancer proteins from solid and hematologic cancers that are generally unavailable to naturally occurring TCRs, and to significantly reduce the risk of side effects resulting from off-target binding of healthy tissues.