AbbVie bets $2.1B on Capstan's in vivo CAR-T efforts

AbbVie will acquire Capstan Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech focused on advancing in vivo engineering of cells through RNA delivery, in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion in cash.

Key to the deal is Capstan’s CPTX2309, a potential first-in-class in vivo targeted lipid nanoparticle (tLNP) anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy candidate, currently in phase 1 development for the treatment of B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases.

Additionally, AbbVie will acquire Capstan's proprietary tLNP delivery vehicle that is composed of a tLNP conjugated with a recombinant protein binder, such as a mAb, and is designed to deliver RNA payloads, including mRNA or gene editing tools, capable of reprogramming specific cell types in vivo.

"In vivo CAR-T represents a potential new treatment modality in medicine — embodying the transformative power of cell therapy with the accessibility and scalability of an off-the-shelf biologic. This technology has the potential to become a first-in-class platform to treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases," said Laura Shawver, Ph.D., president and CEO, Capstan.

Capstan’s pipeline also includes a discovery phase in vivo CAR-T product candidate designed to target BCMA-expressing plasma cells for potential applications in both oncology and autoimmune disease.

In vivo cell therapies have the potential to democratize cell therapy access by bypassing the complexity and costs associated with ex vivo cell production. Moving in vivo CAR-Ts into the clinic was a key talking point at the recent ISCT and ASGCT conferences, along with the progress being made using CAR-T cells to treat autoimmune disease.