Nona Biosciences Enters into Collaboration Agreement with Alaya.bio to Advance CAR-T Cell Therapy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nona Biosciences, a global biotechnology company providing a total solution from "Idea to IND" (I to I^TM), ranging from target validation and antibody discovery through preclinical research, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Alaya.bio, a biotechnology company developing a novel polymeric delivery platform, to precisely target and reprogram cells in situ and thus to significantly simplify the way CAR-T cell therapies in particular are being developed, manufactured and administered.

This collaboration aims to leverage Nona's proprietary HCAb Harbour Mice^® platform and its newly introduced site-specific conjugation technology, alongside Alaya.bio's polymeric in situ delivery platform, to develop CAR-T product candidates for potential clinical applications. Nona's fully human HCAbs are revolutionizing antibody discovery with their compact size, simplified structure, and precisely calibrated binding properties, making them ideal for next-generation biotherapeutics. Unlike traditional methods that utilize non-specific conjugation technology, Nona's novel site-specific conjugation technology preserves the antibody's binding and function, thereby enhancing the specificity of Alaya.bio's novel polymeric delivery systems while reinforcing the versatility of the platform.

Under the first phase of the collaboration, Nona will provide Alaya.bio with access to antibodies against multiple targets as potential targeting moieties for Alaya.bio's in vivo CAR program. In the second phase of the collaboration, Alaya.bio will nominate one or more binders that will be conjugated onto their polymeric nanoparticles in a site-specific manner using Nona's site-specific conjugation technology to advance Alaya.bio's CAR product candidate towards clinics.

Dr. Jingsong Wang, Chairman of Nona Biosciences, stated, "We are excited to collaborate with Alaya.bio in advancing CAR-T cell therapy. By combining Nona's industry-leading technology and expertise with Alaya.bio's innovative in situ polymeric delivery platform, we look forward to introducing more promising CAR-T therapies to patients worldwide."

Renaud Vaillant, CEO & Co-founder of Alaya.bio, stated, "We are delighted to start this collaboration between Alaya.bio and Nona Biosciences. The quality of the targeting agents that we graft onto our polymeric nanoparticle ensures the efficacy and safety of our technology. With Nona Biosciences, we have identified promising new-generation candidates that clearly differentiate from what exists and from what has been used by others."

About Nona Biosciences

Nona Biosciences is a global biotechnology company committed to cutting-edge technology innovations and providing a total solution from "Idea to IND" ("I to I^TM"), ranging from target validation and antibody discovery through preclinical research. The integrated antibody and antibody-related discovery services with multiple modalities range from antigen preparation, animal immunization, single B cell screening, to antibody lead generation and engineering, developability assessment and pharmacological evaluation, leveraging advantages of Harbour Mice^® platforms and the experienced therapeutic antibody discovery team.

Harbour Mice^® generate fully-human, monoclonal antibodies in classical two light and two heavy chain (H2L2) and heavy chain-only (HCAb) formats. Integrating Harbour Mice^® and a single B cell cloning platform, Nona Biosciences is focused on driving global inventions of transformative next-generation drugs. For more information, please visit: www.nonabio.com.

About Alaya.bio

Alaya.bio is a pioneering biotechnology company dedicated to advancing in situ gene delivery platform, particularly in the field of CAR-T cell immunotherapy. Alaya.bio's proprietary polymeric delivery nanoparticle offers precise targeting of cells and organs, and enhanced delivery of a wide range of therapeutic payloads, from viral vectors to nucleic acids (incl. mRNA). It can be used either ex vivo (as part of rapid manufacturing processes) or in situ (in situ transduction within the patient after systemic administration). To learn more, please visit: https://www.alaya.bio