- bluebird and Celgene will share 50% of U.S. costs and profits -
- bluebird to receive milestones and royalties on ex-U.S. sales -
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SUMMIT, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 28, 2018--
bluebird
bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUE) and Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq: CELG)
today announced that the companies have entered into an agreement to
co-develop and co-promote bb2121, an investigational anti-B-cell
maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy
for the potential treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory
multiple myeloma in the United States.
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“Entering into this co-development and co-promotion partnership with
Celgene is a significant step forward in building a fully integrated
oncology franchise for bluebird and together, we are committed to
rapidly advancing development of bb2121 for patients,” said Joanne
Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., oncology franchise leader and senior vice
president, corporate development and strategy, bluebird bio. “The
collaboration builds upon our extensive research and development
capabilities in oncology and is a testament to the strong partnership
that exists between our two companies.”
The companies originally entered into a broad, global strategic research
collaboration in 2013 to discover, develop and commercialize novel
therapies in oncology, which included bb2121.
“We are extremely pleased to advance our collaboration with bluebird on
bb2121 and we believe this therapy has the potential to significantly
impact the treatment approach and outcomes for patients with multiple
myeloma,” said Nadim Ahmed, President, Hematology and Oncology for
Celgene.
About the bluebird bio-Celgene Collaboration
bluebird bio and Celgene are collaborating to develop CAR T cell
therapies targeting BCMA. The collaboration’s lead oncology program,
bb2121, is currently being studied for the treatment of relapsed and
refractory multiple myeloma. For bb2121, bluebird and Celgene have joint
responsibility for development, manufacturing and commercialization in
the United States. Celgene will assume sole responsibility for drug
product manufacturing and commercialization outside the United States.
bluebird bio and Celgene are also working together on a second
clinical-stage anti-BCMA CAR T program, bb21217.
About bluebird bio, Inc.
With its lentiviral-based gene therapies, T cell immunotherapy expertise
and gene editing capabilities, bluebird bio has built an integrated
product platform with broad potential application to severe genetic
diseases and cancer. bluebird bio's gene therapy clinical programs
include its Lenti-D™ product candidate for the treatment of cerebral
adrenoleukodystrophy, and its LentiGlobin® product candidate for the
treatment of transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, also known as
β-thalassemia major, and severe sickle cell disease. bluebird bio's
oncology pipeline is built upon the company's leadership in lentiviral
gene delivery and T cell engineering, with a focus on developing novel T
cell-based immunotherapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T)
and T cell receptor (TCR) therapies. bluebird bio's lead oncology
programs, bb2121 and bb21217, are anti-BCMA CAR T programs partnered
with Celgene. bluebird bio also has discovery research programs
utilizing megaTAL/homing endonuclease gene editing technologies with the
potential for use across the company's pipeline.
bluebird bio has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Seattle,
Washington, Durham, North Carolina and Zug, Switzerland.
LentiGlobin and Lenti-D are trademarks of bluebird bio, Inc..
About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an
integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the
discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for
the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through
next-generation solutions in protein homeostasis, immuno-oncology,
epigenetics, immunology and neuro-inflammation. For more information,
please visit www.celgene.com.
Follow Celgene on Social Media: @Celgene, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including statements regarding the potential benefits of, and plans
relating to the collaboration between bluebird bio and Celgene; the
potential of bb2121 as a therapeutic drug; and the benefit of each
company’s strategic plans and focus. The words “anticipate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,”
“would,” “could,” “potential,” “possible,” “hope” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying
words. Any forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and
adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, risks that the preliminary results from our clinical trials of
bb2121 will not continue or be repeated inongoing or planned
clinical trials of bb2121, the risk of cessation or delay of any of the
ongoing or planned clinical studies and/or our development of the bb2121
or bb21217 product candidates, risks that the current or planned
clinical trials of the bb2121 product candidate will be insufficient to
support regulatory submissions or marketing approval in the United
States, European Union or other countries, the risk that our
collaboration with Celgene will not continue or will not be successful,
and the risk that the bb2121 product candidate will not be successfullycommercialized. These and other risks are described in greater detail
under the caption "Risk Factors" included in each company’s public
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date
hereof, and neither company has any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Hyperlinks are provided as a convenience and for informational
purposes only. Neither Celgene nor bluebird bio bears responsibility for
the security or content of external websites or websites outside of
their respective control.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180328005324/en/
Source: bluebird bio, Inc.
For bluebird bio
Media:
Stephanie Fagan, 201-572-9581
sfagan@bluebirdbio.com
or
Investors:
Elizabeth
Pingpank, 617-914-8736
epingpank@bluebirdbio.com
or
For
Celgene:
Investors:
908-673-9628
ir@celgene.com
or
Media:
908-673-2275
media@celgene.com
