Benzinga | Aug 13, 2021 10:03AM EDT

Mustang Bio, Mayo Clinic Join Forces On New CAR T Tech In Tumor Settings

* Mustang Bio Inc (NASDAQ:MBIO) executed an exclusive license agreement with Mayo Clinic for a new approach to administering chimeric antigen receptor engineered T cell (CAR T) therapies and potentially be used as an off-the-shelf therapy.

* The technology uses a two-step approach. First, a peptide is administered to drive the proliferation of the patient's resident T cells.

* Then a viral CAR construct is administered directly into the lymph nodes of the patient. In turn, the viral construct infects the activated T cells and effectively forms CAR T cells in vivo in the patient.

* Successful implementation may lead to an off-the-shelf product with no need to isolate and expand patient T cells ex vivo.

* Preclinical proof-of-concept has been established, and the ongoing development of the technology will occur at Mayo Clinic.

* Mustang plans to file an Investigational New Drug Application for a multicenter Phase 1 trial once a lead construct has been identified.

* Price Action: MBIO shares are up 1.51% at $2.82 during the market session on the last check Friday.