Sorrento, Karolinska Institutet partner to develop new NK cell-based therapies

Jan 11 2016

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE; Sorrento), an antibody-centric, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for cancer and other unmet medical needs, announced today that it has formed an exclusive partnership with the world-renowned Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm, Sweden, to perform cutting-edge immuno-oncology research and to develop new natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies.

Under the agreement, Sorrento will sponsor preclinical and clinical research & development programs focused on NK biology as well as adoptive NK cell therapies and, in return, obtain full rights to the resulting discoveries and developments. The research will be performed at KI, but there will also be an active research exchange with Sorrento R&D in San Diego. A joint steering committee with members from both Sorrento and KI will guide the program activities.

"Given the fact that NK cells were discovered at Karolinska Institutet, it is of course now exciting to take part in the ongoing developments involving these cells in settings of adoptive immunotherapies targeting human malignancies", said Professor Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, Dean of Research at Karolinska Institutet. "We look forward to teaming up our world-leading NK cell experts with Sorrento's outstanding scientific team to gain new insights into NK biology and applying these to develop novel cellular therapies."

"We are honored to work with the distinguished KI faculty on discovering and developing new adoptive NK cell immunotherapies", said Dr. Henry Ji, President and CEO of Sorrento. "Through this partnership, Sorrento further establishes its subsidiary, TNK Therapeutics, as one of the premier companies in the cellular therapy space. Building upon the academic and clinical excellence at KI and Sorrento's expertise in antibody research and development, our partnership will stimulate innovation and may ultimately lead to new ground breaking therapies to improve the lives of cancer patients and their caretakers."

SOURCE Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.