Sorrento, Conkwest To Jointly Develop NextGen CAR-TNK Immunotherapies

(RTTNews) - Oncology company Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (SRNE) has entered into a definitive agreement with privately-held immuno-oncology company Conkwest, Inc. to jointly develop next generation CAR-TNK (pronounced as "Car-Tank") immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.

The CAR-TNK technology platform combines Conkwest's proprietary Neukoplast cell line with Sorrento's proprietary G-MAB fully human antibody technology and CAR designs to further enhance the potency and targeting of Neukoplast.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sorrento and Conkwest will establish an exclusive global strategic collaboration focused on accelerating the development of CAR-TNKs for the treatment of hematological malignancies as well as solid tumors.

Both companies will jointly own and share development costs and revenues from any developed CAR-TNK products. As part of the transaction, Sorrento will make a $9 million strategic equity investment in Conkwest and provide $2 million in research credit payments towards the development of novel CAR-TNK cell lines.

Adoptive immunotherapy is widely regarded as one of the most impactful and innovative anti-cancer therapy breakthroughs.

The "off-the-shelf" CAR-TNK approach will utilize Conkwest's bioreactor-grown NK-92 cell line, Neukoplast, as the immune effector cells.