The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Phoenix SENOLYTIX, Inc. have announced a groundbreaking global cross-licensing agreement that promises to revolutionize safety mechanisms in cell and gene therapy. The partnership centers on rimiducid, a molecular agent that activates inducible safety switches in engineered cellular therapies, with the goal of improving both patient safety and treatment accessibility.
Novel Injectable Formulation Addresses Clinical Limitations
Under the agreement, Phoenix SENOLYTIX will develop a proprietary injectable formulation of rimiducid that can be administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously, marking a significant departure from current intravenous infusion methods. This advancement addresses key limitations in patient compliance and treatment accessibility, potentially enabling outpatient administration and reducing dependency on complex infusion regimens.
"While we have had very promising safety results with our engineered cell therapies, it is critical that we include effective technologies to rapidly eliminate transduced cells in the event of treatment-related toxicities," said Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and vice president and head of the Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery & Innovation at MD Anderson.
CaspaCIDe Technology Provides Precision Safety Control
Central to this collaboration is the CaspaCIDe (inducible caspase-9, iCasp9, or iC9) safety switch technology, which enables precise temporal control over therapeutic cells. Rimiducid functions as a molecular dimerizer, binding to engineered domains on modified caspases to trigger rapid cell death when needed. This mechanism provides clinicians with a fail-safe option to deactivate cells that may cause unanticipated toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome or off-target effects.
MD Anderson's Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery & Innovation has already incorporated the CaspaCIDe safety switch into multiple cell therapy programs, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapies. The technology was originally developed by David Spencer, Ph.D., a co-founder of Phoenix who served as the scientific founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals.
Expanded Applications Through ApoptiCIDe Platform
Phoenix has evolved the original technology into its proprietary ApoptiCIDe platform, specifically designed to work with the new rimiducid formulation. This platform can be incorporated into both cell and gene therapies and is being explored for applications beyond oncology, including age-related and metabolic disorders such as obesity.
"We are excited about the broad medical opportunities presented by the dimerizer applications that would be enhanced with this new formulation of rimiducid," said Spencer, chief technology officer at Phoenix. "This reflects a potentially major advance that should further expand the adoption of cell and gene therapies."
Strategic Resource Exchange and Governance
The partnership establishes a symbiotic exchange where Phoenix provides the new rimiducid formulation and regulatory support, while MD Anderson contributes its extensive cell therapy platforms and clinical trial infrastructure. MD Anderson receives exclusive rights to Phoenix's new formulation for use with its inducible switch technologies in ex vivo cell therapy platforms.
To guide the collaboration's strategic direction, both organizations will establish a joint scientific advisory board. Phoenix members will include Spencer, Daniel Jasinski, Ph.D., and Kevin Slawin, M.D., the founder of both Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and Phoenix SENOLYTIX. MD Anderson will be represented by Rezvani and two additional experts to be named.
Broader Industry Impact
MD Anderson has already made the inducible switch technologies available via non-exclusive licenses to other academic institutions and biopharmaceutical companies. The introduction of Phoenix's improved rimiducid formulation is expected to accelerate adoption across the biopharmaceutical industry, potentially establishing these safety switches as standard of care for engineered cell therapies.
The collaboration addresses the critical need for enhanced safety mechanisms as cell therapies advance toward broader clinical implementation. By enabling precise spatial and temporal regulation of therapeutic cells, the injectable rimiducid formulation expands usability across diverse therapeutic landscapes, including gene therapies administered directly in vivo.
