PRTC’s Vor Announces Collaboration with Janssen

9 July 2021

 PureTech Health plc

PureTech Founded Entity Vor Biopharma Announces Collaboration with Janssen to Develop Engineered Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants Combined with a Bi-Specific Antibody Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, is pleased to note that its Founded Entity, Vor Biopharma (Nasdaq: VOR) ("Vor"), announced the formation of a collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. ("Janssen"), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Vor Biopharma will investigate the combination of these two technologies into a treatment solution, pairing Vor's "invisible" eHSC transplant platform with one of Janssen's bi-specific antibodies in development for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).  The collaboration agreement provides that each company retains all rights and ownership to their respective programs and platforms.

The full text of the announcement from Vor is as follows:

Vor Biopharma Announces Collaboration with Janssen to Develop Engineered Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants Combined With a Bi-Specific Antibody Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 08, 2021 - Vor Biopharma (Nasdaq: VOR or the Company), a cell therapy company pioneering engineered hematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) therapies combined with targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced the formation of a collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. ("Janssen"), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Vor Biopharma will investigate the combination of these two technologies into a treatment solution, pairing Vor's "invisible" eHSC transplant platform with one of Janssen's bi-specific antibodies in development for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).  

"We are thrilled to enter into this collaboration with Janssen as we continue to explore our platform's potential to pair with a broad spectrum of targeted therapy modalities for the treatment of patients with blood cancer," said Tirtha Chakraborty, PhD, Vor's Chief Scientific Officer. "We believe this unique combination will leverage each technology's strengths, while protecting patients against off-target effects of these powerful immunotherapies."

The collaboration agreement provides that each company retains all rights and ownership to their respective programs and platforms.

About Vor Biopharma

Vor Biopharma is a cell therapy company that aims to transform the lives of cancer patients by pioneering engineered hematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) therapies to create next-generation, treatment-resistant transplants that unlock the potential of targeted therapies. By removing biologically redundant proteins from eHSCs, we design these cells and their progeny to be treatment-resistant to complementary targeted therapies, thereby enabling these therapies to selectively destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include the Company's statements regarding its platform's potential to treat patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of the Company's product candidates; availability and timing of results from preclinical studies and clinical trials; whether interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial or the results of future trials; expectations for regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products and availability of funding sufficient for the Company's foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements.  These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption "Risk Factors" included in the Company's most recent annual or quarterly report and in other reports the Company has filed or may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

About PureTech Health

PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including inflammatory, fibrotic and immunological conditions, intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases and neurological and neuropsychological disorders, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and development team and its extensive network of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders. This pipeline, which is being advanced both internally and through PureTech's Founded Entities, is comprised of 26 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates, including two that have received FDA clearance and European marketing authorization, as of the date of PureTech's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F. All of the underlying programs and platforms that resulted in this pipeline of therapeutic candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key validation points based on the Company's unique insights into the biology of the brain, immune and gut, or BIG, systems and the interface between those systems, referred to as the BIG Axis.

For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter @puretechh.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the company's future prospects, developments, and strategies. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, expectations regarding the collaboration between Vor and Janssen, expectations regarding the potential combination of the Vor and Janssen technologies into a treatment solution, expectations regarding the potential benefits to patients from the collaboration and those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.