Nona Biosciences Expands CAR-T Partnership with Umoja Biopharma to Develop In Vivo Cell Therapies
Key Insights
Nona Biosciences (search) and Umoja Biopharma (search) have expanded their strategic collaboration through a new evaluation and license agreement to develop multiple in vivo CAR-T cell products.
The partnership combines Nona's proprietary HCAb Harbour Mice (search)® and NonaCarFx (search)™ platforms with Umoja's VivoVec (search)™ platform to create next-generation cell therapies.
Under the agreement terms, Nona is eligible for upfront payments, option exercise fees, and milestone payments, while Umoja will handle product development and commercialization.
Nona Biosciences (search) announced on November 5, 2025, an expanded evaluation and license agreement with Umoja Biopharma (search) to advance the development of in vivo CAR-T cell therapies. This partnership expansion builds upon the strategic collaboration initially established between the two companies in September 2024.
The collaboration aims to create multiple in vivo CAR-T cell products by integrating Nona's proprietary technology platforms with Umoja's VivoVec (search)™ platform. Specifically, the partnership will combine Nona's HCAb Harbour Mice (search)® and NonaCarFx (search)™ platforms with Umoja's in vivo gene delivery technology.
Financial Terms and Responsibilities
Under the agreement terms, Nona Biosciences (search) is eligible to receive an upfront payment, potential option exercise fees, and milestone payments tied to the discovery and development of specific programs within the collaboration. Umoja Biopharma (search) will assume responsibility for all subsequent product development and commercialization activities.
Technology Platform Integration
Nona's HCAb Harbour Mice (search)® platform represents the world's first fully human heavy chain-only antibody (HCAb) transgenic mouse with clinical validation. This platform generates fully human monoclonal antibodies in both classical two light and two heavy chain (H2L2) format and heavy chain-only (HCAb) format. The technology offers versatility for diverse applications using fully human VH single-domain antibodies as a plug-and-play system, including bispecific antibodies, multi-specific antibodies, CAR-T therapies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and mRNA-based therapeutics.
The NonaCarFx (search)™ platform serves as a direct CAR-function-based screening platform, while Umoja's VivoVec (search)™ technology enables in vivo gene delivery to empower a patient's own immune system to fight disease.
Leadership Perspectives
Dr. Di Hong, Chief Executive Officer of Nona Biosciences (search), expressed enthusiasm about the expanded partnership: "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."
Ryan Larson, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research at Umoja Biopharma (search), highlighted the strategic importance of the collaboration: "Expanding our collaboration with Nona Biosciences (search) marks a critical next step in Umoja continuing to build an industry-leading, wholly-owned pipeline of in vivo CAR-T cell therapies. This expanded partnership between Umoja and Nona enables us to harness Nona's proprietary targeting technologies together with our VivoVec (search)™ 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."
Company Profiles
Nona Biosciences (search) operates as a global biotechnology company providing integrated solutions from "Idea to IND" (I to I™), spanning target validation and antibody discovery through preclinical research. The company's integrated platform includes Harbour Mice®, single-B cell screening technology, NonaCarFx (search)™, Hu-mAtrIx™ (an AI-driven drug discovery platform), Modalities-on-Demand™ (a next-generation modalities solution), and end-to-end preclinical drug development services.
Umoja Biopharma (search) functions as a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing in vivo cell therapies to improve the reach, effectiveness, and access of CAR-T cell therapies in both oncology and autoimmunity. The company operates a state-of-the-art lentiviral vector development and manufacturing facility in Louisville, Colorado, supporting its VivoVec (search)™ in vivo gene delivery technology platform.