Unlike most cell therapies that come from cells of the patient, known as autologous cell therapy, Appia Bio will use the cells of other people, known as allogeneic cell therapy.
Pharma giant Gilead Sciences announced in 2017 it would acquire Kite Pharma in a nearly $12 billion deal, pointing to a growing interest in Los Angeles' bioscience community made up of university-to-startup pipelines like Appia, which has founders from UCLA, USC and CalTech.Īppia Bio will be responsible for doing preclinical and early clinical research of engineered cells provided by Kite, and Kite Pharma will be responsible for developing, manufacturing and commercializing the therapies.
The deal highlights a growing, collaborative ecosystem in Los Angeles reminiscent of the biotech community in San Diego. The deal could be worth up to $875 million for Appia Bio, according to the two companies. Under the agreement, Westwood-based Appia Bio ( which came out of stealth in May) and Kite Pharma will develop CAR-T cell therapies, a promising new treatment that aims to eliminate cancer cells and strengthen the immune system's response to flag and fight these cells in the future. Last week, one of the biggest players in cell therapy, Kite Pharma, announced it will work with the cancer startup Appia Bio to create breakthrough drugs. Treatments are being developed by two Southern California pharma companies. The next wave of cancer treatments uses the body's own immune system rather than chemotherapy or radiation to kill cancer cells.
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