UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): February 24, 2015
Kite Pharma, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 001-36508 | 27-1524986 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||
| 2225 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, California |
90404 | |||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |||
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (310) 824-9999
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
| Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On February 24, 2015, Kite Pharma, Inc. (“Kite”) amended its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, originally effective August 31, 2012 (“CRADA”), with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as represented by the National Cancer Institute (the “NCI”). The CRADA provides for the research and development of engineered autologous T cell therapy based product candidates, including both chimeric antigen receptor (“CAR”) and T cell receptor (“TCR”) based product candidates, for the treatment of multiple advanced and metastatic cancer indications.
The amendment expands the research plan in the CRADA to include (1) the research and development of the next generation of TCR-based product candidates that are engineered to recognize neo-antigens, which are specific to the unique genetic profile of a patient’s own tumor, (2) the optimization of new methods to manufacture this next generation of TCR-based product candidates and (3) the advancement of CAR-based product candidates for the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and TCR-based product candidates for the treatment of certain epithelial tumors such as lung and colorectal cancer. To support the additional research activities under the amended CRADA, Kite’s quarterly payments to the NCI will increase from $250,000 to $750,000.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: March 2, 2015 | KITE PHARMA, INC. (Registrant) | |||||
| By: | /s/ Cynthia M. Butitta | |||||
| Name: | Cynthia M. Butitta | |||||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer | |||||