Aug. 20 at 5:05 PM
$AFMD some thoughts about Genentech's current termination spree: 1. Bicycle's molecule is essentially a T/NK cell engager -- the termination means it either not working or Genentech no longer interested in cell engagers; 2. Genentech has showed strong interest in T cell therapy other than CAR-T. They first partnered with
$ADPT and then
$ADAP. They also bought Poseida last year for Allogenic CAR-T. Terminations with
$ADPT is particularly strange -- there's no reason to scale back after the Poseida deal especially pipelines from Poseida are very early and need de-risking.
My guess is they see something concerning from Poseida's Ph1 trials, possibly on the safety side. Will they turn their focus on NK cell therapy with NK engager? We shall see.