Glaxo picks Adaptimmune over Immunocore

Glaxosmithkline’s decision today to discontinue its early-stage NY-ESO-targeting project GSK3537142 looks like a vote of confidence in its more advanced NY-ESO asset, the Adaptimmune-originated lete-cel. Although the two projects have the same target they work slightly differently: lete-cel comprises T cells engineered to express an engineered T-cell receptor, while GSK3537142, which Glaxo had been developing with Immunocore, uses a soluble version of this T-cell receptor to recruit a patient's own T cells. Glaxo’s agreement with Immunocore, dating back to 2013, also involved a second target, but there is no mention of this in Glaxo’s pipeline, providing a strong hint that the partnership could be dead. Glaxo did not give details on why it had scrapped GSK3537142, but presumably it has seen more promising results with lete-cel; indeed, the latter, which is in a pivotal phase 2 trial in synovial sarcoma, is listed among Glaxo’s potential blockbuster launches. And there could be more good news for Adaptimmune: Glaxo is also developing two next-gen NY-ESO-targeting assets based on lete-cel, which incorporate additional receptors to increase anticancer activity.