Cimeio Therapeutics has announced that it has entered into a research cooperation with Kyowa Kirin, which is one of the 40 most profitable pharma companies in the world. The focus will be on the development of an innovative immunotherapy. “With this partnership we believe we can develop a safe and effective therapy for diseases that in the past have been incredibly difficult to treat”, explains Dr. Yoshifumi Torii, Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, Head of Research Division at Kyowa Kirin.

The partnership brings together the Basel-based firm’s shielded cell and immunotherapy platform with Kyowa Kirin’s expertise in the field of cell therapies. Cimeio’s platform is based on the development of novel immunotherapies enabled by epitope-shielded cells. Among other applications, these shielded cells facilitate the development of powerful therapeutics for previously untreatable targets, targeted conditioning for hematopoietic stem cell transplants and immune system resets.

Significant step forward for Cimeio

Under the terms of the agreement, Cimeio is eligible to receive an upfront payment and two years of research funding. In the event that Kyowa Kirin opts to exercise a commercial license option, payments for development and commercial milestones will also be triggered, as well as royalties on the sale of potential products resulting from the partnership. The partnership is valued at up to 300 million US dollars overall.

“This partnership represents a significant step forward for our company and mission”, as Dr. Stefanie Urlinger, Chief Scientific Officer of Cimeio, comments in the press release. Cimeio is part of the portfolio of BaseLaunch, the startup accelerator and incubator. Accordingly, the company has received backing from this organization.