April 22 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb

said it has signed a $380 million deal with contract

manufacturer Cellares to manufacture its CAR-T cell therapies in

the United States, EU and Japan.

The collaboration will help Bristol Myers to expand its

manufacturing capacity due to increasing demand. The company

said in February it was looking to launch both its CAR-T blood

cancer therapies Abecma and Breyanzi in a number of new

countries this year.

CAR-T therapy involves removing a patients' own T cells - a

key component of the immune system - engineering them to

recognize and attack malignant cells, and re-infusing them.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)