VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Acuitas Therapeutics said it presented new research at the 2026 American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Annual Meeting, including advances in lipid nanoparticle delivery for in vivo CAR T-cell therapy and new findings on LNP product performance.
The Vancouver-based company, which develops lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for genetic medicines, said its ASGCT presentations focused on extrahepatic targeting, in vivo CAR T-cell engineering and ionizable lipid quality attributes.
“The research presented by Acuitas at ASGCT 2026 showcases our holistic approach to pave the way for highly specific and re-dosable genetic medicines,” said Ying Tam, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Acuitas. “From the successful in vivo engineering of CAR T cells to elucidation of the mechanisms behind RNA-lipid adducts, these data advance the industry standard in LNP delivery — a standard validated by the compelling data presented this week by partners who are relying on Acuitas’ LNP to power their own therapeutic breakthroughs.”
A major focus of the company’s presentation was a targeted extended-circulation lipid nanoparticle, or ecLNP, designed to deliver CAR-encoding mRNA to CD8+ T cells. Acuitas said the work was conducted in collaboration with Athebio and used Athebody designed ankyrin repeat proteins, known as DARPins, as engineered binding proteins for cell-specific targeting.
Acuitas said the ecLNP composition increased plasma half-life from 15 minutes to two hours in mouse models. The company said the addition of DARPins produced a 10-fold reduction in liver expression compared with standard LNPs.
In nonhuman primates, Acuitas said administration of ecLNPs carrying CD20 CAR mRNA resulted in CAR expression on more than 60% of circulating CD8+ T cells. The company said those CD8+ CAR T cells produced complete and sustained B cell depletion in peripheral blood, bone marrow and lymphoid tissues, including the spleen and lymph nodes, at doses as low as 0.25 mg/kg.
Acuitas also presented research on ionizable lipid quality attributes, including data examining the relationship between aldehydes and mRNA-lipid adduct formation. The company said the work helps quantify how aldehydes can affect mRNA-LNP product performance in vivo.
Acuitas said the findings support continued development of LNP systems intended to enable more precise, repeatable and targeted genetic medicines.
