Medigene AG

Medigene collaborates with RXi Pharmaceuticals to further sharpen its therapeutic T cells

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Planegg (pta004/11.12.2017/07:30) - - Synergies between the recombinant T cell technologies of Medigene and self-delivering RNAi technologies from RXi Pharmaceuticals will be explored preclinically

- Research results could lead to the development of next generation recombinant T cells with improved characteristics for optimized treatment of cancer patients

Medigene AG (MDG1, Frankfurt, Prime Standard, TecDAX) announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, MA, USA (NASDAQ: RXII) to explore potential synergies of using RXi's self-delivering RNAi technology (sd-rxRNA®) in combination with Medigene's recombinant TCRs to develop modified T cells with enhanced efficacy and/or safety. The preclinical research program will examine the applicability of RXi's sd-rxRNA technology to be integrated into Medigene's process to produce receptor-modified T cells with the ultimate goal to further improve Medigene ` s T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer patients.

Research teams at Medigene will closely work together with the scientists at RXi to explore potential advantages of transient down regulation of certain genes ("knock down") to prevent negative regulation of T cells expressing a recombinant TCR directed against a predefined tumor antigen. The two complementing technologies could lead to synergistic effects that might further sharpen and improve the therapeutic effects of Medigene's receptor-modified T cells.

Markus Dangl, Senior Vice President Research and Preclinical Development of Medigene AG, comments: "We are very happy that we found a partner that is fully aligned with our vision to further improve our adoptive T cell therapy approach. We are convinced that this technology can help us to develop the next generation of recombinant T cells that are highly efficacious, also in challenging solid tumor environments. These T cells will contain features that have the potential to further enhance the efficacy and safety of our approach to bring highly beneficial cellular therapies to the market."

Dr. Geert Cauwenbergh, President and CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals, adds: "We are excited to start this new collaboration. Medigene's adoptive cell therapy, using their TCR platform, is a very attractive and promising development in immuno-oncology; and we are pleased with their decision to use our sd-rxRNA technology in combination with their TCR approach. The use of our immuno-oncology sd-rxRNA compounds with their receptor-modified T cells could potentially create a next generation of very powerful adoptive cell therapies against serious cancers that are currently difficult to target."