Nona Biosciences, a global biotechnology company providing integrated solutions from "Idea to IND" (I to I™),  announced an evaluation and license agreement with Umoja Biopharma ("Umoja"), the clinical-stage leader of in vivo cell therapies that aim to realize the full reach and promise of CAR-T cells.

This agreement represents an expansion of the strategic collaboration established between the two companies in September 2024. The expanded partnership aims to create multiple in vivo CAR-T cell products by combining Nona's proprietary HCAb Harbour Mice^® and NonaCarFx™ platforms with Umoja's VivoVec™ platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nona Biosciences is eligible to receive an upfront payment, potential option exercise fees and milestone payments tied to the discovery and development of specific programs in the collaboration. Umoja will be responsible for all further product development and commercialization.

Dr. Di Hong, Chief Executive Officer of Nona Biosciences, commented, "We're excited to expand our partnership with Umoja, a pioneer in in vivo CAR-T cell therapy. This collaboration reflects Umoja's continued confidence in Nona's technology platforms and expertise. With our industry-leading antibody discovery capabilities and deep experience in immunology and oncology, we look forward to supporting Umoja in developing next-generation in vivo CAR-T cell therapies with the potential to transform patient care."

"Expanding our collaboration with Nona Biosciences marks a critical next step in Umoja continuing to build an industry-leading, wholly-owned pipeline of in vivo CAR-T cell therapies," said Ryan Larson, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research, Umoja Biopharma. "This expanded partnership between Umoja and Nona enables us to harness Nona's proprietary targeting technologies together with our VivoVec™ platform to accelerate the development of therapies that can transform the cell therapy landscape. By combining our expertise, we aim to enhance patient access to more innovative and effective medicines."