NEW YORK – San Francisco-based Lyell Immunopharma and Nashville-based Sarah Cannon on Thursday announced the initiation of a strategic partnership to develop and clinically evaluate oncology-focused T-cell therapies.
For its part of the collaboration, Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, will bring its network of cancer centers and expertise providing clinical development services to Lyell's cell-based immunotherapy research. Through Sarah Cannon's CRO, Sarah Cannon Development Innovations, Lyell intends to leverage Sarah Cannon's patient access and operational delivery services to evaluate its cell therapies in clinical trials, once the company is authorized to do so.
Lyell's immune-effector, or T-cell, therapies are intended to provide curative treatments for both hematologic and solid-tumor malignancies as well as other diseases. The company is focused on T-cell differentiation, functionality, and specificity. However, T-cell therapies can be challenging to integrate into clinical settings. Sarah Cannon's experience bringing clinical trials of therapies including CAR T-cell therapies to patients who may benefit from them in community-based settings around the world may allow Lyell to conduct its trials more efficiently.
"We look forward to partnering with Lyell Immunopharma to accelerate development and access to innovative T-cell therapies for patients who could potentially benefit from these treatment options, " Howard "Skip" Burris, Sarah Cannon's president of clinical operations and chief medical officer, said in a statement. "By bringing together Lyell Immunopharma's scientific expertise with Sarah Cannon's experience and expansive network, we can pursue an innovative approach to bring these cutting-edge treatment options into the community more rapidly and affordably for patients."