Shares of Ziopharm Oncology Inc.(ZIOP) soared 54% today after news that the company has established a collaboration deal with Intrexon Corporation (XON) and MD Anderson Cancer Center. According to the deal there are multiple technologies that will be established together to improve efficacy and reduce toxic side effects of cancer therapies utilizing the immune system.
Each entity is bringing its own technology to the table to create an efficacious drug capable of stimulating the immune system to target and only kill cancerous cells. For instance Laurence Cooper M.D., P.H.D. professor of pediatrics at MD Anderson, and Perry Hackett, P.H.D. and Professor of Biological Sciences at Minnesota, have engineered a technology known as CAR T Cell Therapies -- chimeric antigen Receptor T Cell therapies. These are the engineered T-cells that will ultimately be responsible for destroying the cancerous cells from the patient's body. MD Anderson has expanded slightly on this tech by modifying these T-cells as patient-derived T-cells that will know what to attack when implanted back in the patient's body.
With all this Intrexon will provide its technology suite along with Ziopharm's Rheoswitch therapeutics system to deliver T-cells in a more efficient and safer manner. Under the terms of the agreement MD Anderson will receive $100 million - $50 million from Ziopharm and $50 million from Intrexon - utilizing each of the companies' common stock. In addition each company shall also provide a commitment payment of $15 - $20 million every year over a 3 year period. The companies also have the ability to enter into further future collaborations in addition to the current collaborations.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.