Liberate Bio Expands In Vivo CAR-M Platform with Licensed Myeloid CAR Designs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Liberate Bio, a biotechnology company developing genetic medicines that program immune cells directly in the body, announced that it has secured exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to key patents covering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) designs optimized for myeloid cells, including monocytes and macrophages.

The licensed intellectual property originates from Carisma Therapeutics and the University of Pennsylvania and includes CAR construct designs specifically engineered for myeloid cell function. These designs will complement Liberate Bio’s proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery platform, which selectively targets and programs myeloid immune cells in vivo.

By combining optimized CAR-sequence intellectual property with cell-selective delivery technology, Liberate Bio aims to strengthen the development of its emerging in vivo CAR-M (CAR-macrophage) therapeutic platform.

“Myeloid cells have unique biology distinct from T cells, and CAR constructs optimized for their activation and persistence are essential,” said Walter R. Strapps, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Liberate Bio. “By combining validated CAR design methods with our myeloid-selective LNP platform, we are building a differentiated and highly integrated approach to in vivo cell therapy.”

Liberate Bio’s proprietary RAPTOR™ platform screens lipid nanoparticles directly in non-human primates to identify delivery vehicles capable of targeting immune cells outside the liver. In previous studies, the company reported that its lead LNP enabled greater than 99% depletion of circulating B cells in non-human primates through selective programming of monocytes and macrophages.

“In vivo CAR-M represents a new chapter in immune reprogramming,” said Shawn P. Davis, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Liberate Bio. “By uniting best-in-class delivery with optimized myeloid CAR designs, we are establishing a scalable and potentially safer alternative to CAR-T therapies.”

The company plans to advance its first in vivo CAR-M therapeutic candidate into IND-enabling studies, with the goal of supporting an investigator-initiated clinical trial in the second half of 2026.

CAR-macrophage therapies represent an emerging class of cell therapies that could potentially expand the reach of engineered immune cell treatments beyond traditional CAR-T approaches, particularly in oncology and autoimmune diseases.