Bayer Intends To Bow Out From CAR-T Therapy Pact With Atara

Atara Biotherapeutics Inc ATRA received notification that Bayer AG's BAYRY intends to end the exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for mesothelin-directed CAR T-cell therapies.
The collaboration included the funding and development of ATA3271, allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, and an autologous version, ATA2271, for high mesothelin-expressing tumors.
ATA3271 leverages Atara's EBV T-cell platform and is currently in IND (Investigational New Drug)-enabling studies.
Related: Atara Biotherapeutics Shares Fall After Reporting Patient Death In ATA2271 Autologous CAR T Trial.
Upon termination of the agreement in September 2022, Atara will have full rights to continue the clinical development and future commercialization of its programs worldwide.
Atara expects to provide a Phase 1 data update for ATA2271 in H2 2022 and will also continue to lead IND-enabling studies and process development for ATA3271.
"Given the exciting developments on ATA188 and tab-cel and our continued progress toward submitting an IND for ATA3219 in Q4 2022, we plan to focus our resources accordingly while re-assess our strategy for our mesothelin CAR T program," said Pascal Touchon, President and CEO of Atara.
"Consequently, we will postpone the anticipated IND filing for ATA3271 beyond the fourth quarter of 2022. We are also maintaining our cash runway guidance into Q4 of 2023," Touchon added.
Price Action: ATRA shares closed 14.3% lower at $4.42 during after-hours trading on Thursday.