CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — CREATE Medicines has entered into a strategic research and development collaboration and license agreement with WestGene Biopharma to advance next-generation in vivo CAR therapies using targeted lipid nanoparticle technology.
The partnership will combine CREATE’s in vivo immune programming and RNA gene-writing platforms with WestGene’s targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery technology. The companies plan to evaluate the combined approach across three product candidates spanning autoimmune disease, solid tumors and durable gene delivery.
The initial programs include CRT-403, a dual-target CD19 × BCMA in vivo CAR-T therapy for autoimmune disease; CRT-401, a dual-component HER2 × TROP2 in vivo CAR program for solid tumors; and a CD19 × BCMA program using CREATE’s RetroT RNA gene integration platform.
The collaboration will include research, development and early clinical evaluation of the programs, with additional development activities planned to advance selected candidates.
“Pioneering a new therapeutic class requires us to be fast, smart, and global,” said Daniel Getts, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of CREATE Medicines. “We are excited to collaborate with WestGene and gain new exposure to its exceptional targeted-LNP expertise and technology.”
Getts said WestGene’s translational capabilities and clinical development experience could help CREATE expand its in vivo cell therapy pipeline and generate additional human data.
WestGene, based in Chengdu, China, develops targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery systems and mRNA therapeutics.
“We are pleased to collaborate with CREATE Medicines to explore the potential of targeted LNP delivery in next-generation in vivo CAR therapies,” said Xiangrong Song, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WestGene. “Together, we aim to move differentiated programs into patients efficiently and generate data with global relevance.”
The collaboration builds on CREATE’s existing autoimmune pipeline, led by CRT-402, a CD19-directed transient and repeat-dose in vivo CAR-T therapy currently being evaluated in a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial.
CREATE said CRT-402 provides the foundation for its broader CD19 strategy, which it is expanding through CRT-403 and potentially durable CAR expression using its RetroT platform.
The company has also established targeted-delivery partnerships with Monash University in Australia and Acuitas Therapeutics in Canada.
CREATE said more than 60 patients have been dosed across its in vivo CAR clinical programs. Data from those studies are being used to guide development across different targets, immune-cell populations, delivery systems, CAR designs, dosing strategies and disease settings.
