To develop the next generation of in vivo T cell therapy, Novartis will leverage Vyriad's active targeting lentiviral vector platform to discover and develop new in vivo CAR-T cell therapy candidates. Novartis will then potentially move candidates forward through the clinic, according to a Nov. 20 release.
For each program advanced, Vyriad will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, milestone payments and tiered royalties, the firm said in the release.
“We are committed to addressing unmet medical needs and making the transformative potential of CAR-T cell therapies available to more patients,” Novartis Biomedical Research’s head of cell and gene therapies Jennifer Brogdon, Ph.D., said in the release.
Lentiviruses are already used to engineer T cells in the lab for ex vivo CAR-T cell therapies. Vyriad’s lentivirus vectors target T cells within a patient’s body and deliver genes coding for chimeric antigen receptors. Once the T cells decipher those genetic instructions, they are programmed to go after targets expressing antigens that match up with the receptors.
Novartis is not the only one on the hunt for in vivo T cell therapies.
Umoja Biopharma shared results last year showing its gene therapy edited T cells in non-human primates, with plans to start a phase 1 trial of its lead candidate for hematologic malignancies by the end of the year.
Sana Biotechnology had also been working toward an in vivo CAR-T therapy of its own before dropping the program in late 2023 and laying off 29% of staff to cut costs.