In vivo-focused collaboration has scope to considerably boost therapeutic innovation and address unmet need in immune-mediated diseases.
Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) company and US biotechnology firm Sail Biomedicines have agreed to collaborate to advance innovative in vivo CAR-T therapies for immune-mediated diseases.
With the deal set to strengthen its position in immunology, J&J will pay a total of $785 million, plus a further $140 million, subject to achievement of certain development milestones. J&J also has the option to acquire Sail for $2.58 billion.
Other pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have already invested in in vivo cell therapies. Most recently, Gilead expanded its CAR-T therapy partnership with Arcellx by acquiring the US biotech for $7.8 billion.
The current agreement will advance Sail’s vanguard in vivo CAR-T programme in autoimmune diseases as well as additional programmes. Sail’s approach involves “designing eRNA™ constructs, targeted nanoparticles, and manufacturing as one coordinated system [to] direct what therapeutic instructions are delivered, which cells receive them, and how long they are expressed.”
John Reed, Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson, said: “Sail’s innovative platform represents an exciting new approach that seeks to harness the power of CAR-T therapy in a simpler, more scalable way. By working together with Sail, we aim to accelerate the development of innovative therapies that have the potential to fundamentally transform how immune-mediated diseases are treated.”
Sail’s innovative platform represents an exciting new approach that seeks to harness the power of CAR-T therapy in a simpler, more scalable way”
John Reed, Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson
John Mendlein, Executive Chairman of Sail Biomedicines and Executive Partner at Flagship Pioneering, shared the company is “thrilled to work with Johnson & Johnson’s scientists and leadership on our shared vision of bringing curative impact to millions of people with immune-mediated diseases.”
The deals between J&J and Sail are subject to customary conditions.
In February, J&J also made a heavy investment to advance its portfolio. The firm directed $1 billion into its cell therapy manufacturing operations in the US, a move that is part of a planned $55 billion investment to expand its R&D and manufacturing footprint in the country by 2029.
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