Deal report: Astellas taps Kelonia for CAR Ts, Aurinia fails to find buyer, and more

The “gene placement” system from venture-backed Kelonia Therapeutics Inc. has attracted a new pharma partner, as Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503) is paying $40 million up front in a structured deal under which the partners will create in vivo CAR T therapies.

Launched nearly two years ago, Kelonia has developed a platform with which it can use lentiviral particles to deliver genetic cargoes to extrahepatic sites, with selectivity for specific tissues...