Kite Pharma and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. announced a joint venture, Fosun Pharma Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd. to develop, manufacture and commercialize axicabtagene ciloleucel in China with the option to include additional products, including two T cell receptor (TCR) product candidates from Kite. Axicabtagene ciloleucel (KTE-C19), Kite’s lead product candidate, is an investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy under development for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. The joint venture will be registered in Shanghai and owned equally between Kite Pharma, a pioneer in the field of engineered T-cell therapy for cancer, and Fosun Pharma, a leading healthcare group in China. Under the terms of the agreement, Fosun Pharma will provide the RMB equivalent of $20 million in funding to support clinical development and manufacturing activities and Kite will provide certain technical transfer services to the joint venture. Each party will share in any profits from the joint venture with Kite Pharma receiving 40% and Fosun Pharma receiving 60%. Kite will also receive an upfront fee of $40 million from the joint venture, funded by Fosun Pharma, regulatory and commercial milestones totaling $35 million and mid-single digit sales royalties for axicabtagene ciloleucel (KTE-C19). The joint venture will initially focus on axicabtagene ciloleucel, Kite’s lead CAR product candidate for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. The joint venture will also have the option to license additional product candidates including KITE-439, a TCR therapy directed against the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 oncoprotein and KITE-718, a TCR therapy directed against MAGE A3 and MAGE A6, antigens frequently found in solid tumors including bladder, esophageal, head and neck, lung and ovarian cancers. Opt-in and milestone payments for KITE-439 and KITE-718 could total $140 million plus profit sharing and mid-single digit sales royalties. Kite Pharma's product candidate, axicabtagene ciloleucel, is an investigational therapy in which a patient's T cells are engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to target the antigen CD19, a protein expressed on the cell surface of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias, and redirect the T cells to kill cancer cells. Axicabtagene ciloleucel has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation status for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), transformed follicular lymphoma (TFL), and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Priority Medicines (PRIME) regulatory support for DLBCL in the EU.