Sorrento Therapeutics CAR-T Manufacturing Capacity Expanded With Opening of East Coast GMP Site in Addition to Primary West Coast Facility

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 24, 2018 -- Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRNE) ("Sorrento"), announced today the expansion of its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) CAR-T manufacturing capacity, with an exclusive agreement to operate the “Cellular Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Facility” at Roger Williams Medical Center (Providence, RI) under Sorrento management.

Sorrento estimates that the combination of its East and West Coast manufacturing capacity will allow the company to process CAR-T treatments for over 300 patients a year without the use of a third-party contract manufacturer. Sorrento believes that the current capacity should be sufficient to meet its lead candidate CD38 CAR-T multiple myeloma development needs through and up to FDA approval, and support other upcoming CAR-T development programs.

This latest facility addition brings the total GMP manufacturing sites of Sorrento and its subsidiaries to 5 separate facilities: Judicial Facilities (San Diego, CA) for CAR-T therapies and antibody production, Providence Facilities (RI) for CAR-T therapies, Camino Santa Fe Facilities (San Diego, CA) for oncolytic virus production, Suzhou Facilities (China) for antibody-drug conjugate (linker toxin synthesis and bio conjugation) production and Bioserv Corporation (San Diego, CA) for small molecule and biologics fill and finish, medical devices and high potency compound fill and finish (expected completion later in the year).

“We decided a long time ago that internal manufacturing capability would be a strategic asset for Sorrento,” stated Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO. He also noted, “Many biotech companies learned the hard way the risks of entering into a new therapeutic area without internal manufacturing capabilities and having to compete with other companies for limited numbers of third party manufacturers. With all the recent activity in the CAR-T space we are extremely pleased to be in control of our own GMP manufacturing and not have to rely on outside parties for our supply needs for our current and future development work.”

As Sorrento moves towards non-viral CAR manufacturing, it also expects both the Judicial and Providence Facilities to be able to increase their capacity throughput and handle multiple CAR-T development programs in parallel.

About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. 

Sorrento is a clinical stage, antibody-centric, biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to turn malignant cancers into manageable and possibly curable diseases. Sorrento's multimodal multipronged approach to fighting cancer is made possible by its extensive immuno-oncology platforms, including key assets such as fully human antibodies (“G-MAB™ library”), clinical stage immuno-cellular therapies (“CAR-T”), intracellular targeting antibodies (“iTAbs”), antibody-drug conjugates (“ADC”), and clinical stage oncolytic virus (“Sephrevir®”). 

Sorrento's commitment to life-enhancing therapies for cancer patients is also demonstrated by our effort to advance a first-in-class (TRPV1 agonist) non-opioid pain management small molecule in Resiniferatoxin (“RTX”) and ZTlido™. Resiniferatoxin is completing a phase IB trial in terminal cancer patients. ZTlido is in regulatory review following NDA re-submission.

For more information visit www.sorrentotherapeutics.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements about Sorrento's plans to internalize and expand its manufacturing operations; ability to leverage expanded manufacturing operations to assist the company in its execution of its strategies and development of Sorrento’s and its subsidiaries’ technologies and products; and expectations for Sorrento's and its subsidiaries' technologies and product candidates.  Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: risks related to Sorrento's and its subsidiaries' technologies and prospects; risks related to Sorrento’s and its subsidiaries’ manufacturing operations; risks related to seeking regulatory approvals and conducting clinical trials; and other matters that are described in Sorrento's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by law.

Media and Investor Relations

Contact: Alexis Nahama, DVM (VP Corporate Development)

Telephone: 1.858.203.4120

Email: [email protected]

Sorrento® and the Sorrento logo are registered trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

ZTlido™ and G-MAB™ are trademarks owned by Scilex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sorrento, respectively.

Seprehvir®, is a registered trademark of Virttu Biologics Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TNK Therapeutics, Inc. and part of the group of companies owned by Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

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