The multiyear grant “Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem” from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) will fund the R&D costs from preclinical stage to Phase 2 clinical trial up to 100oku yen ($65M) to in vivo CAR-Macrophages of United Immunity. United Immunity is developing a PEG-free, pullulan-coated lipid nanoparticle (P-LNP) that selectively delivers nucleic acid payloads to macrophages and dendritic cells through binding to the DC-SIGN receptor. P-LNP will be used to deliver an optimized chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to tumor-associated macrophages in the patient’s body for the treatment of refractory solid tumors. Compared to ex vivo cell therapies, in vivo CAR-Macrophages offer the promises of long-term disease control by repeat administration, lower patient burden and significantly reduced manufacturing costs.
United Immunity will initiate Phase 1 clinical trial for its lead program, UI-102, shortly and this program is also supported by an AMED grant.