Atara Biotherapeutics collaborates with Bayer on CAR-T cell therapies

7 December 2020

Germany’s Bayer (BAYN: DE) and US biotech Atara Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: ATRA) today announced an exclusive worldwide license agreement and research, development and manufacturing collaboration for mesothelin-directed CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, with news of the deal pushing Atara’s shares up 10.6% to $27.20 pre-market.

The agreement includes the development candidate ATA3271, an armored allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, and an autologous version, ATA2271, for high mesothelin-expressing tumors such as malignant pleural mesothelioma and non-small-cell lung cancer.

Atara was established in 2012 by the world’s largest biotech firm Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) and venture capital group Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), when it was licensed to six Amgen assets.

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