Alloy Therapeutics and Takeda Comes Together To Advance Cell Therapy Innovation

Alloy Therapeutics Inc. has announced a partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company to advance groundbreaking cell therapy technologies. The collaboration focuses on Takeda’s innovative platforms for developing CAR-T and CAR-NK therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). These platforms, known as iCAR-T and iCAR-NK, aim to address challenges in treating solid and blood-related cancers.  

iCAR-T technology was born out of Takeda's joint research with Kyoto University's CiRA, leveraging methods developed in Dr. Shin Kaneko's lab to transform iPSCs into immune cells. With potential to deliver off-the-shelf cell therapies, iCAR-T offers enhanced effectiveness and significantly reduced production costs compared to traditional autologous approaches. This partnership positions Alloy to drive innovation in creating accessible and advanced treatments for critical diseases.

As part of the agreement, Alloy secures co-exclusive rights to market iCAR-T and iCAR-NK therapies for cancer treatments. By utilizing its innovative business model, Alloy plans to accelerate the development of the iCAR-T/NK platform, expanding access to this cutting-edge technology for biotech and pharmaceutical partners. This collaboration aims to drive forward the development of cancer therapies, including those targeting solid tumors. Ongoing clinical validation and improvements to the platform will help enhance its capabilities and effectiveness in the future.

Yasushi Kajii, Head of R&D Japan Region at Takeda, said in a statement, “iCAR-T is one of our flagship projects graduating from T-CiRA, our decade-long joint research program between Takeda and CiRA. This agreement between Takeda and Alloy aims to advance iCAR-T from discovery to clinical development. We are impressed with Alloy’s corporate culture of valuing platform technologies, flexibility in collaboration, patient-centric mindset, and company creation abilities, all of which were key elements to our decision to work with Alloy. We look forward to seeing iCAR-T and iCAR-NK blossom as the technology advances to its next phase.”

Errik Anderson, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Alloy, also mentioned, “We are honoured and excited to be chosen by Takeda to collaborate in fulfilling the promise of iPSC. This is another instance of how Alloy’s flexible approach allows us to enable the global scientific community with cutting edge technologies designed for rapid, successful drug development. We believe a robust engagement with the ecosystem will play a critical role in unlocking the vast potential of iPSC and enabling the next generation of cancer therapeutics.”

To further its initiatives, Alloy is launching a new subsidiary in Japan, located at the Shonan Health Innovation Park in Kanagawa Prefecture. This new branch will be led by Victor Stone (Yoshihide Ishii), who will serve as the Head of Alloy Cell Therapies and Alloy Therapeutics Japan.