MiNK Therapeutics stock soars 80% due to partnership with C-Further

Investing.com – MiNK Therapeutics (Nasdaq: INKT) stock surged 80% on Tuesday after the company announced a partnership with C-Further to co-develop PRAME-targeted iNKT cell therapy for pediatric cancers.

This clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company will receive approximately $1.1 million in non-dilutive funding to support the IND enabling development of its PRAME-TCR-iNKT asset. The agreement also includes a potential double-digit percentage share of downstream commercial revenues.

The collaboration will advance an engineered T cell receptor natural killer T (NKT) cell therapy targeting PRAME, a tumor-associated antigen expressed in various pediatric malignancies, including sarcomas, acute myeloid leukemia, and medulloblastoma. This project is among the first selected by C-Further, an international pediatric cancer treatment alliance.

MiNK’s iNKT platform is designed as an allogeneic off-the-shelf therapy derived from healthy donors, allowing for pre-manufacturing and administration without HLA matching or lymphodepleting chemotherapy. The company will serve as the primary industry partner, while researchers at the University of Southampton will conduct preclinical studies to evaluate anti-tumor activity and safety in pediatric cancer models.

This partnership is non-exclusive, allowing MiNK to continue independently advancing its iNKT platform for other tumor indications and collaborations. Payments under the agreement are linked to achieving established scientific milestones from preclinical candidate nomination to translational development.

The C-Further alliance is supported by Cancer Research Horizons, LifeArc, and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, focusing on accelerating the development of immunotherapies for children with limited treatment options.

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