Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR)

[pcjockey]

Celularity Enters into Multi-Year Strategic Partnership with Palantir Technologies
May 05 2021 - 08:00AM
GlobeNewswire Inc.

Celularity Inc. (“Celularity”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the next evolution in cellular medicine with the development of off-the-shelf allogeneic therapies derived from the postpartum human placenta, and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), a software company that builds enterprise platforms, will form a multi-year strategic partnership to leverage the unique combined strengths of Palantir’s Foundry platform with Celularity’s deep dataset to accelerate and advance cellular therapies.

Celularity will use Palantir Foundry, a platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and allows for the integration of siloed data sources into a common operating picture, leading to better data-driven decision making. Celularity will employ Palantir’s Foundry platform to secure deeper insights into data obtained from Celularity’s discovery and process development as well as manufacturing and biorepository operations.

Shyam Sankar, Chief Operating Officer of Palantir, said, “Celularity’s unique approach to cellular therapies, grounded in their highly proprietary placental cellular technology, has the potential to transform the field and is ideally suited to synergize with our data analytics capabilities. Leveraging Celularity’s significant pool of valuable data, we believe we will be able to generate meaningful clinical insights capable of advancing the current treatment landscapes. Our software allows organizations to accelerate life sciences research and enables data-driven inference to guide scientific research. Great AI is only possible with the best data sets and we are excited to partner with Celularity to unlock the potential of health data and redefine the cell therapy landscape.”

“Cellular medicine represents the next frontier in the treatment of cancer and many other serious diseases, but despite important advances such as CAR-T the field remains in its infancy and many opportunities exist to innovate and improve the quality, precision and economics of these cellular medicines,” said Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., founder, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Celularity. “One cannot overlook the enormous value resident in the deep analysis of the large and complex datasets related to the genomics, secretomics, epigenetics and biological performance of cells in manufacturing and clinically. As pioneers in placental-derived stem cell therapies, and having two decades of experience in the procurement of post-partum placentas from over 50,000 newborn donors, we have amassed a vast repository of data that could hold valuable insights and guide the development of future programs when coupled with deep learning from a leading AI innovator such as Palantir. Moreover, parallel progress in annotating the genome and applying that intelligence to screening donors and having the ability to predict a range of biologic characteristics will ultimately guide both the manufacturing and clinical application of these products. This partnership provides the foundation for translating our data into inferences that can guide our research and development programs, and help us realize our combined goal of creating the next evolution in cellular medicine.”

As part of the partnership, Palantir will make an investment in Celularity that will close immediately following Celularity’s planned business combination with GX Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: GXGX), a special purpose acquisition corporation. Palantir's investment, together with the previously announced PIPE investment being made in conjunction with the GX-Celularity business combination, will bring over $100 million in new funding to Celularity upon closing of the business combination.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies is a software company that builds enterprise data platforms for use by organizations with complex and sensitive data environments. From building safer cars and planes, to discovering new drugs and combating terrorism, Palantir helps customers across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors transform the way they use their data. Additional information is available at https://www.palantir.com

About Celularity

Celularity, headquartered in Florham Park, N.J., is a clinical stage biotechnology company leading the next evolution in cellular medicine by developing off-the-shelf placental-derived allogeneic cell therapies, including unmodified NK cells, genetically-modified NK cells, T cells engineered with a CAR (CAR T-cells), and mesenchymal-like adherent stromal cells (ASCs) targeting indications across cancer, infectious and degenerative diseases. Celularity believes that by harnessing the placenta’s unique biology and ready availability, it will be able to develop therapeutic solutions that address significant unmet global needs for effective, accessible, and affordable therapies.

In January 2021, Celularity entered into a definitive merger agreement with GX Acquisition Corp. to create a publicly listed leader in allogeneic cellular therapy. GX Acquisition Corp. is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “GXGX.” Upon closing of the business combination, expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, shares of the combined company will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CELU.”

About GX

GX is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. GX is led by Jay R. Bloom and Dean C. Kehler, who serve as Managing Partners of Trimaran Capital Partners.

To learn more, visit celularity.com.