Obsidian Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb announced that they will be extending the terms of their multi-year partnership to discover and develop cell therapies that leverage Obsidian’s immune enhancer CD40L.
The collaboration extension will provide BMS with exclusive rights for cell therapy candidates discovered using Massachusetts-based Obsidian’s cytoDriVE technology, which is used to control the expression of the immunomodulatory factor CD40L. CD40L plays a role in B cell mediation, and its role in carcinogenesis has been widely studied.
The drug discovery platform was crucial to the initial partnership, first announced in January of 2020. Although no deal amounts were shared, Obsidian is eligible to receive future milestone and royalty payments. The company's lead program, cytoTIL15, is engineered to make tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapies more effective for more patients.
