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Autolus Therapeutics announces collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb for use of Autolus’ proprietary safety switch system

12 October 2022

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Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY). The agreement grants Bristol Myers Squibb access to incorporate Autolus’ proprietary RQR8 safety switch into an initial set of selected cell therapy programmes on a target-by-target basis for the treatment of cancer, with an option for Bristol Myers Squibb to incorporate the RQR8 safety switch in additional cell therapy programmes beyond the initial set of selected programs.

Managing toxicities is a critical step in the successful application of programmed cell therapies. Safety switches are designed to allow the use of pharmacological agents to selectively eliminate a cell therapy in the event a patient experiences severe adverse side effects from the treatment. Autolus’ proprietary RQR8 switch works by administration with the widely available and approved pharmaceutical antibody, rituximab. Once administered, rituximab binds to the engineered CD20 epitopes on the surface of the cell therapy and triggers selective cell death.

Read the full story from Autolus here.