HONG
KONG, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global
Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO, "GCBC" or the "Company"),
China's leading provider of cord
blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell
processing and stem cell storage services, announced today that the
Company will acquire 100% of Cellenkos, Inc ("CLNK") and the rights
to develop and commercialize all of its existing and future
products worldwide except those related to CLNK's existing
collaboration with Incyte Corporation (Nasdaq: INCY,
"Incyte"). As of the date hereof, the Company has entered into
agreements with the holders of approximately 95% of CLNK
outstanding equity interest and GM Precision Medicine (BVI) Limited
("GMPM"). Following the entry into an agreement at substantially
the same terms with the remaining 5% holder, at closing, the
Company will issue approximately 125 million new shares (on an
as-converted and fully diluted basis) valued at US$11 per share and pay US$664 million in cash as total
consideration.
CLNK is a biotechnology research and development ("R&D")
company that utilizes umbilical cord blood ("CB") as the raw
material to develop innovative, allogeneic, off-the-shelf, cell
based therapeutic products. Through a License and Strategic
Development Agreement with The University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre and CLNK's own
proprietary Intellectual property ("IP"), CLNK focuses on
developing T-regulatory ("T-reg") cell therapies for treating
autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders. Out of a rich and
expanding product pipeline, CLNK is developing cellular medicines
to suppress severe inflammations of Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19), Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Aplastic Anemia (AA). One of its core
products, CK0802, has completed a Phase 1, Double-Blinded,
Randomized, Placebo Controlled Safety and Early Efficacy Trial for
the treatment of COVID-19 induced ARDS in 45 patients
(www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT04468971). The results of this trial
showed that CK0802 infusions were well-tolerated and the 100
million cell dose was likely associated with improvements in the
primary endpoint of being alive and extubated at day 28 as well as
in the overall survival at last follow up, after accounting for
prognostic covariates. A larger confirmatory study is warranted.
CLNK is preparing to initiate Phase II/III trials and to apply for
Emergency Use Authorization ("EUA"), Regenerative Medicine Advanced
Therapy Designation ("RMAT"), Breakthrough Therapy Designation
("BTD"), Fast Track Designation ("FTD") and Orphan Drug Designation
("ODD"). Additionally, CLNK has formed a development collaboration
with Incyte to investigate the combination of CK0804 and
ruxolitinib (Jakafi®) in patients with myelofibrosis
(MF) and is entitled for licensing fees and royalties based on
milestones.
Upon completion of all transactions, the Company will own 100%
of CLNK equity, the global rights for most of its products, and the
laboratory assets under GMPM. The Company will fully support all of
CLNK's on-going and outstanding clinical and R&D projects.
The Board of Directors of the Company believes that CLNK is a
perfect fit for the Company and that its products can have distinct
synergies with the Company's existing line of business. "Aiming at
the multi-billion-dollar cell therapy market, the Company adds a
growth engine through CLNK's world-class cell therapy R&D team,
CLNK's owned cGMP manufacturing facility and its unique
technology to derive T-reg cellular therapies with the ability to
generate multiple and distinct products against various
conditions," said Ms. Ting Zheng, Chairperson and CEO of GCBC.
"Besides business expansion from umbilical cord blood stem cell
storage to T-reg cell therapy, the Company's targeted market also
spreads beyond China and
Asia, as we strive to serve global
patients' un-met medical needs and save lives."
"As a biotech company focused on innovative cellular therapies,
CLNK is honored to join the GCBC family. This union represents an
important milestone for CLNK and I believe GCBC's current business,
extensive network and sales and marketing resources in Asia will help expedite CLNK's R&D
activities and future commercialization and expansion," said Dr.
Simrit Parmar, MD, Founder of CLNK.
"Looking ahead, the CLNK team will continue to focus on the R&D
and manufacturing for breakthrough T-reg cell therapies, co-operate
with GCBC's existing team to expand CLNK's pipeline and prepare for
the commercialization of our products on a global scale to benefit
patients who are in dire need of better treatment options."
About Global Cord Blood Corporation
Global Cord Blood Corporation is an umbilical cord blood banking
operator serving multiple regions in China. Global Cord Blood Corporation provides
cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell
processing and stem cell storage services. For more information,
please visit the Company's website at:
http://www.globalcordbloodcorp.com.
About Cellenkos, Inc
Cellenkos® is a clinical-stage biotechnology company
focused on development and commercialization of Allogeneic,
Tissue-Targeted, Immune T-Regulatory Cell Therapies to Treat
Autoimmune Diseases and Inflammatory Disorders. Being derived
from umbilical CB. Cellenkos' Tregs are naïve, bonafide suppressor
cells that resolve inflammation through multiple direct and
indirect interactions. Cellenkos utilizes its proprietary
CRANETM platform technology to isolate, activate,
enrich and expand the tissue directed CB Treg cells that leverage
cellular intelligence to seek, localize, proliferate and resolve
tissue inflammation. Cellenkos' in-house cGMP facility allows for
large scale manufacturing where multiple doses can be generated
from a single CB unit. These off-the-shelf allogeneic cell products
are cryopreserved and are available on-demand for infusion at the
point-of-care.
For more information, please visit the Company's website at:
https://www.cellenkosinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These
statements relate to future events or the Company's future
financial performance. The Company has attempted to identify
forward-looking statements by terminology including "anticipates",
"believes", "expects", "can", "continue", "could", "estimates",
"intends", "may", "plans", "potential", "predict", "should" or
"will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology. These statements are only predictions, uncertainties
and other factors may cause the Company's actual results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements to be materially different
from any future results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. The information in this press release is not intended
to project future performance of the Company. Although the Company
believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, the Company does not guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The
Company expectations are as of the date this press release is
issued, and the Company does not intend to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date this press release is
issued to conform these statements to actual results, unless
required by law.
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SOURCE Global Cord Blood Corporation