SAN DIEGO, Oct. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FATE), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and immune disorders, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 9,169,490 on October 27, 2015. The compositions described in the patent are foundational to the generation of induced pluripotent cells, which are a source of cells offering unique potential for off-the-shelf adoptive immunotherapy.

"Our novel induced pluripotent cell approach to cancer immunotherapy, which combines genetic engineering with rapid and efficient generation of immune cells, is designed to enable the unlimited production of engineered T cells and NK cells in a consistent, scalable and efficient manner," said Scott Wolchko, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Fate Therapeutics. "Supported by an intellectual property portfolio of over 30 issued patents and 60 pending applications, we believe we are uniquely positioned to develop and deliver on the potential for off-the-shelf cell-based cancer immunotherapies utilizing our proprietary pluripotent cell platform as an alternative approach to patient-sourced cells."

The newly issued U.S. patent, which is owned by the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and licensed exclusively to Fate Therapeutics for all therapeutic purposes, provides broad protection for cell compositions expressing a sufficient amount of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) to enable pluripotency. The production of Oct4 protein within a cell is a critical requirement to consistently and efficiently induce pluripotency. Fate Therapeutics is utilizing its novel platform to engineer the immunological properties of pluripotent cells, creating a continual source for the generation of engineered T- and NK-cell immunotherapeutics.

The first named inventor of this patent is Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D., a scientific founder of Fate Therapeutics. Dr. Jaenisch, a Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is a world-renowned scientist whose laboratory has made seminal contributions to the field of biological sciences, including understanding epigenetic regulation of gene expression in mammalian development and disease.

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.

Fate Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and immune disorders. The Company's cell-based product pipeline is comprised of off-the-shelf immuno-oncology therapeutics, including NK- and T-cell-based candidates derived from induced pluripotent cells, and immuno-regulatory therapeutics, including hematopoietic cell-based candidates for protecting the immune system of patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation and for suppressing auto-reactive T cells of patients with auto-immune disorders. Its adoptive cell therapy candidates are based on the Company's novel ex vivo cell programming approach, which it applies to modulate the therapeutic function and direct the fate of immune cells. Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit www.fatetherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the breadth and strength of the Company's intellectual property portfolio, the therapeutic potential of programmed cellular immunotherapeutics, and the Company's plans and ability to develop programmed cellular immunotherapeutics, including off-the-shelf NK- and T-cell-based cancer immunotherapeutics derived from induced pluripotent cells. These and any other forward-looking statements in this release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of cessation or delay of planned research and development activities, any inability to develop programmed cellular immunotherapeutics, including NK cells and T cells derived from induced pluripotent cells, which are suitable for therapeutic applications, and the risk that programmed cellular immunotherapeutics or other product candidates that the Company may develop may not produce therapeutic benefits or may cause other unanticipated adverse effects. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause the Company's actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, and from time to time the Company's other investor communications. The Company is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Jesse Baumgartner

         Stern Investor Relations, Inc.

         212.362.1200

         jesse@sternir.com

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