Bellicum Pharmaceuticals

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focused on developing cellular immunotherapies for various cancers. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company centered its efforts on its proprietary Chemical Induction of Dimerization (CID) technology platform. This platform was engineered to provide real-time control over the components of the immune system.

The company's core business revolved around creating controllable cell therapies, particularly Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. Bellicum's approach was to engineer molecular switches into these therapies that could be activated by a small molecule, rimiducid, allowing for the potential to manage the timing and intensity of the therapeutic effect and enhance safety. Its product candidates included BPX-601, an autologous GoCAR-T therapy targeting solid tumors expressing prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA), and BPX-603, a dual-switch GoCAR-T product for tumors expressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The dual-switch technology incorporated both an activation switch (iMC) to boost efficacy and a safety switch (CaspaCIDe) designed to eliminate the therapeutic cells in case of severe side effects.

Throughout its history, Bellicum achieved several milestones, including advancing its CAR-T candidates into Phase 1/2 clinical trials. The company went public and was listed on the Nasdaq exchange. However, the development path was challenging. In March 2023, Bellicum announced the discontinuation of its clinical trials for BPX-601 and BPX-603 due to dose-limiting toxicities and an unfavorable risk/benefit profile. This decision was prompted by serious adverse events, including cytokine release syndrome, observed in patients. Lacking the resources to optimize the therapies, the company began to evaluate strategic alternatives.

The discontinuation of its main clinical programs led to a significant restructuring. In April 2023, the company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq for failing to meet continued listing requirements. Ultimately, in February 2024, Bellicum completed the sale of substantially all its assets, including its CaspaCIDe® and GoCAR® platform technologies, to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for $8.1 million. Following the asset sale, the company's shareholders approved a plan of liquidation and dissolution.

Keywords: cellular immunotherapy, CAR-T therapy, oncology, biopharmaceutical, CID technology, GoCAR, CaspaCIDe, rimiducid, molecular switches, cancer treatment, cell therapy safety, prostate cancer, solid tumors, HER2, BPX-601, BPX-603, clinical trials, MD Anderson Cancer Center, asset sale, liquidation