Factor Bioscience has signed an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Eterna Therapeutics, aimed at accelerating the development of advanced cell therapy candidates for oncology, rare diseases, and autoimmune disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, Eterna has secured a worldwide, exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-bearing license, with the right to grant sublicenses, to develop and market certain induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based cell therapy products (in particular iPSC derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSC) that are engineered to express certain cytokines) utilizing Factor's cell reprogramming and gene-editing technologies, patents, and know-how.

The agreement positions both companies with the potential to accelerate the development of advanced cell therapies in the oncology, rare disease, and autoimmune fields.

"We are excited to collaborate with Factor to unlock the full potential of these transformative cell therapies," said Sanjeev Luther, President & CEO, Eterna.

"Our focus at Eterna has always been on developing transformative treatments for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases, and we believe this collaboration agreement increases our potential to rapidly advance therapies that target solid tumors, rare diseases, and autoimmune disorders," Luther added.

Factor and Eterna will collaborate on data generation that seeks to demonstrate efficacy of the licensed drug candidates for development towards IND by Eterna directly or with third-party sublicensees. As part of the agreement, Factor is entitled to receive milestone payments per product candidate, as well as post-commercialization royalties.

"We are thrilled to support Eterna's pipeline of advanced cell therapy product candidates," said Matt Angel, PhD, CEO of Factor.

"Eterna's team has deep translational and development expertise, making them the ideal partner to develop these products. Together, we are taking an important step toward making these therapies available to patients in need," Angel added.