08:51 AM EDT, 09/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Carisma Therapeutics ( CARM ) said Tuesday it is expanding its collaboration with Moderna ( MRNA ) to include the nomination of two targets to treat autoimmune diseases.

The companies will develop in vivo chimeric antigen receptor macrophage and monocyte or CAR-M for autoimmune diseases, building on preclinical in vivo CAR-M data in oncology, Carisma said.

Carisma said Moderna ( MRNA ) nominated two autoimmune disease targets under the collaboration, which will use Carisma's CAR-M technology and Moderna's ( MRNA ) mRNA/LNP platform for the development of in vivo macrophage engineering approaches in the nominated targets.

Beyond the two nominated targets, which will be exclusively partnered with Moderna ( MRNA ), all rights in autoimmune disease will be retained by Carisma, according to Carisma.

Carisma, which will have the responsibility to discover and optimize development candidates, said it will receive research funding and can get development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales of any products commercialized under the deal.

The clinical development and commercialization of therapeutics resulting from the deal will be led by Moderna ( MRNA ), Carisma said.

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