J&J, Transposagen partner to develop CAR T therapies

The Janssen unit of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (Lexington, Ky.) have started a three-year research collaboration to develop allogeneic CAR T therapies using Transposagen's piggyBac Footprint-Free Gene Editing System. Unlike autologous chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies, allogenic CAR T therapies have the potential to be used off-the-shelf.

Janssen will pay upfront and milestone fees of $292 million, plus tiered royalties, for exclusive rights to each CAR T therapy developed under the collaboration. Janssen also obtained a non-exclusive license to use Transposagen's gene editing technologies, while Transposagen retained rights to develop CAR T therapies using Natural Killer or NK-like cells. ...