CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nona Biosciences, a global
biotechnology company providing a total solution from "Idea to IND"
(I to ITM), announced today that it has entered into a
multi-target antibody discovery collaboration with Umoja Biopharma,
a transformative immunotherapy company creating off-the-shelf
treatments that aim to extend the reach and effectiveness of CAR-T
cell therapies in oncology and autoimmunity. This collaboration
leverages Nona's proprietary fully human heavy chain only antibody
(HCAb) technology to produce novel in vivo generated CAR-T
cell therapy drug candidates.
Fully human HCAbs have the potential to significantly reduce
immunogenicity and offer versatility in CAR design due to their
compact size, simplified structure, and precisely calibrated
binding properties. This partnership
aims to combine Nona's HCAb Harbour Mice® platform
and direct CAR-function-based HCAb library screening
platform (NonaCarFx™) with Umoja's VivoVec™ platform to develop
novel in vivo CAR-T cell therapies and expand the potential
reach of this innovative delivery technology.
Dr. Jingsong Wang, MD, PhD,
Chairman of Nona Biosciences, commented, "We are excited to
collaborate with Umoja Biopharma, a pioneer in cell and gene
therapy. We believe that our HCAb Harbour Mice®
technology and NonaCarFxTM platform, alongside with our
extensive experience in oncology and immunology, will empower Umoja
to generate novel CAR-T cell therapies that benefit patients
worldwide."
Byoung Ryu, PhD, Umoja's
Executive Vice President of Discovery Research and Vector Biology
added, "Nona is a great partner for Umoja as we continue to move
the CAR-T cell field towards directly administrated in vivo
CAR therapeutics. Nona has demonstrated capabilities for generating
highly functional CAR candidates, and we look forward to developing
multiple in vivo drug candidates through this partnership
and ultimately, helping change outcomes for these patients."
About Nona Biosciences
Nona Biosciences is a global biotechnology company committed to
cutting-edge technology innovations and providing a total solution
from "Idea to IND" ("I to ITM"), ranging from target
validation and antibody discovery through preclinical research. The
integrated antibody and antibody-related discovery services with
multiple modalities range from antigen preparation, animal
immunization, single B cell screening, to antibody lead generation
and engineering, developability assessment and pharmacological
evaluation, leveraging advantages of Harbour Mice platforms
and the experienced therapeutic antibody discovery team.
Harbour Mice® generates fully human monoclonal
antibodies in classical two light and two heavy chain (H2L2)
format, and heavy chain only (HCAb) format. Integrating Harbour
Mice® and a single B cell cloning platform, Nona
Biosciences is focused on driving global inventions of
transformative next-generation drugs. For more information, please
visit: www.nonabio.com.
About Umoja Biopharma
Umoja Biopharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company
aiming to develop off-the-shelf therapeutics that improve the
reach, effectiveness, and access of CAR-T cell therapies in both
oncology and autoimmunity. Umoja's VivoVecTM in
vivo gene delivery technology empowers a patient's own immune
system to fight disease. Enabling its core technology is Umoja's
state-of-the-art lentiviral vector development and manufacturing
facility in Louisville, Colorado.
Umoja believes its approach can provide broader access and improved
effectiveness of the most advanced immunotherapies, enabling more
patients to live better, fuller lives. To learn more, please visit
http://umoja-biopharma.com/.
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SOURCE Nona Biosciences