Green Cross Holdings-GC Cell Subsidiary
Signs Partnership Agreement with Apimed
Joint Development of NK Cell Combination Therapy
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Artiva Biotherapeutics, the U.S. subsidiary of Green Cross Holdings and GC Cell (GCell), which were preparing for a Nasdaq listing, has voluntarily withdrawn its IPO. Artiva explained that there were business constraints during the listing preparation process and that this decision was made considering market conditions, with plans to pursue an IPO again in the future. They also disclosed the partnership agreement with Affimed and the clinical results obtained through it.
According to industry sources on the 4th, Artiva announced on the 3rd (local time) that it voluntarily withdrew the Nasdaq IPO it had been pursuing after submitting the Securities Registration Statement (S-1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April last year. Artiva stated, "Economic conditions are deteriorating due to inflation, high prices, high exchange rates, high interest rates, and the Ukraine war," adding, "This decision was made after careful consideration ahead of the partnership agreement with Affimed."
The company also mentioned that because the SEC enforces a 'Quiet Period' before an IPO for companies preparing to go public, there were many restrictions on communication with investors and other stakeholders due to the IPO process. Instead, by withdrawing the S-1 filing, in addition to the partnership agreement with Affimed, Artiva can actively promote the value of its assets, enabling more flexible external communication and activation of open innovation.
Artiva stated, "Currently, Artiva's financial condition is sound," and "Once global economic uncertainties ease and capital markets become more stable and predictable, we will be able to pursue an IPO again."
Along with announcing the withdrawal of the listing, Artiva also disclosed the signing of a partnership agreement with Affimed. Through this agreement, they will promote the commercialization of combination therapy using Artiva's NK cell therapeutic 'AB-101' and Affimed's NK cell engager 'AFM13.' They will hold joint sales rights, with profits distributed at a ratio of 67% to Affimed and 33% to Artiva. They have completed a pre-IND meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plan to submit the IND to the FDA in the first half of next year.
Adi Hois, CEO of Affimed, explained the choice of Artiva as a partner by saying, "Because of Artiva's commercially viable mass production process," adding, "We believed this could support multi-center joint clinical trials and pave the way for approval."
AFM13 is an NK cell engager that has shown significant results in clinical trials conducted so far. An engager is a substance that binds to specific proteins expressed on cancer cells and immune cells, thereby maximizing the anticancer effect by linking NK cells and cancer cells. AFM13 binds to 'CD30' expressed on lymphoma and 'CD16a' on NK cells.
In a Phase 2 clinical trial conducted on 24 patients with combination administration of NK cells, the objective response rate (ORR) reached 100%, and complete remission (CR) was observed in 70.8%. These results will be presented next month at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference in New Orleans, USA.
AB-101 is one of the allogeneic umbilical cord blood-derived NK cell pipelines based on GC Cell's technology. It demonstrated safety in a Phase 1 monotherapy trial. Recently, combination therapy with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody 'Rituximab' has begun.
A GC Cell official said, "This contract signifies that GC Cell's NK platform technology has once again been recognized as world-class," adding, "Through GC Cell's NK platform technology, we expect collaboration not only with Affimed but also with all therapeutics requiring combination therapy with NK cells."
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