Building on successful pre-clinical
in vivo CAR-M data in oncology, the companies will develop in
vivo CAR-M for autoimmune diseases
Moderna nominated two autoimmune disease
targets under the collaboration
Carisma is eligible to receive milestones and
royalty payments
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Carisma Therapeutics Inc.
(Nasdaq: CARM) ("Carisma" or the "Company"), a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing
innovative immunotherapies, today announced the expansion of its
in vivo chimeric antigen receptor macrophage and monocyte
(together, "CAR-M") collaboration with Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq:
MRNA) to include the nomination of two targets for the treatment of
autoimmune diseases. Carisma retains all rights in autoimmune
disease beyond the two nominated targets, which will be exclusively
partnered with Moderna.
Under this expanded collaboration, Carisma and Moderna will
leverage Carisma's proprietary CAR-M technology and Moderna's
mRNA/LNP platform to develop novel in vivo macrophage
engineering approaches in the nominated autoimmune disease targets.
Carisma will receive research funding and is eligible to receive
development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, plus
royalties on net sales of any products that are commercialized
under the collaboration agreement. Carisma will be responsible for
the discovery and optimization of development candidates, while
Moderna will lead the clinical development and commercialization of
therapeutics resulting from the agreement.
"We are excited to expand our collaboration with Moderna into
the realm of autoimmune diseases," said Steven Kelly, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Carisma. "The nomination of the two autoimmune
targets is a significant milestone in our mission to harness the
power of macrophages to treat a broader range of diseases. Our
innovative CAR-M technology has the potential to revolutionize the
treatment landscape for patients suffering from these debilitating
conditions."
"We are excited to build on the progress of advancing in
vivo CAR-M therapies with Carisma by expanding beyond
oncology," said Lin Guey, PhD, CSO
of Therapeutic Research Ventures, Moderna. "We continue to believe
that the combination of our platform and Carisma's deep myeloid
biology expertise could lead to innovative treatments for
patients."
The expanded collaboration between Carisma and Moderna
underscores the potential of CAR-M technology to impact a diverse
range of disease areas. The expansion will aim to bring
transformative therapies to patients with cancer and autoimmune
diseases, advancing the frontier of immunotherapy.
About Carisma Therapeutics
Carisma Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on utilizing our proprietary macrophage and
monocyte cell engineering platform to develop transformative
immunotherapies to treat cancer and other serious diseases. We have
created a comprehensive, differentiated proprietary cell therapy
platform focused on engineered macrophages and monocytes, cells
that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune
response. Carisma is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please
visit www.carismatx.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations,
plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding
matters that are not historical facts, may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include,
but are not limited to, statements relating to Carisma's business,
strategy, future operations, cash runway, the advancement of
Carisma's product candidates and product pipeline, and clinical
development of Carisma's product candidates, including expectations
regarding timing of initiation and results of clinical trials. The
words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "goals," "intend," "may," "might," "outlook,"
"plan," "project," "potential," "predict," "target," "possible,"
"will," "would," "could," "should," and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially and adversely from those set forth in, or implied by,
such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, (i) Carisma's ability to realize
the anticipated benefits of its pipeline reprioritization and
corporate restructuring, (ii) Carisma's ability to obtain, maintain
and protect its intellectual property rights related to its product
candidates; (iii) Carisma's ability to advance the development of
its product candidates under the timelines it anticipates in
planned and future clinical trials and with its current financial
and human resources; (iv) Carisma's ability to replicate in later
clinical trials positive results found in preclinical studies and
early-stage clinical trials of its product candidates; (v)
Carisma's ability to realize the anticipated benefits of its
research and development programs, strategic partnerships, research
and licensing programs and academic and other collaborations; (vi)
regulatory requirements or developments and Carisma's ability to
obtain and maintain necessary approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and other regulatory authorities related to its
product candidates; (vii) changes to clinical trial designs and
regulatory pathways; (viii) risks associated with Carisma's ability
to manage expenses; (ix) changes in capital resource requirements;
(x) risks related to the inability of Carisma to obtain sufficient
additional capital to continue to advance its product candidates
and its preclinical programs; and (xi) legislative, regulatory,
political and economic developments.
For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, and other
important factors, any of which could cause Carisma's actual
results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, see the "Risk Factors" set forth in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, its Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2024, as well as discussions of potential risks,
uncertainties, and other important factors in Carisma's other
recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any
forward-looking statements that are made in this press release
speak as of the date of this press release. Carisma undertakes no
obligation to revise the forward-looking statements or to update
them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of
this press release, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise, except as required by the federal
securities laws.
Investors:
Shveta
Dighe
Head of Investor Relations
investors@carismatx.com
Media Contact:
Julia
Stern
(763) 350-5223
jstern@realchemistry.com
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SOURCE Carisma Therapeutics Inc.
