Mustang Bio has entered into a license agreement with Harvard University and a research collaboration agreement with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for the development of CRISPR/Cas9-enhanced CAR T therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Under the licensing agreement with Harvard’s Office of Technology Development, technologies related to the development of off-the-shelf CAR T, as well as CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing platforms, will be utilized in conjunction with Mustang’s CAR T cell therapies for the development of treatments for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The Harvard technologies were developed in the lab of Chad Cowan, associate professor in the department of stem cell and regenerative biology and a principal investigator at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Under a separate collaboration agreement, Dr. Cowan will lead preclinical research programs at Beth Israel, where he is an associate professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular medicine.

“Mustang is committed to advancing the development of innovative immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer,” said Manuel Litchman, president and chief executive officer, Mustang. “CRISPR/Cas9’s demonstrated precision may enable us to more effectively and accurately deliver our CAR T therapies and to enhance the tumor killing ability and persistence of the CAR T cells in the patient’s body, which could lead to safer and more potent treatments. We look forward to working with Dr. Cowan and his team on this exciting collaboration to accelerate the development of the next generation of CAR T therapies.”