Mustang Bio

Mustang Bio is an American clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2015 and headquartered in Worcester, MA, U.S.[1][2][3] Operating as a partner company of Fortress Biotech, Mustang Bio develops CAR-T immunotherapies and gene therapies for multiple diseases, including hematologic cancers, solid tumors, and X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID).[4][5][6]

History

Mustang Bio was founded in 2015 and in the same year became a partner company of Fortress Biotech.[5][7] In April 2017, Manuel Litchman took over as CEO of Mustang Bio, and in October of the same year, the company signed a lease with the University of Massachusetts Medicine Science Park in Worcester, MA, for a manufacturing facility to support the clinical development and commercialization of CAR-T products for glioblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia.[3][6][8][9]

Until 2018, the company's studies focused mainly on cancer-fighting therapies and cell therapies.[6] After licensing a gene therapy for X-SCID from St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Mustang Bio expanded its efforts to immunodeficiency treatments.[4][5] In April 2019, it was announced that the gene therapy developed by St. Jude's showed positive results in a trial involving eight infants suffering from X-SCID.[5][6][10][11] Mustang Bio expects to fully take over the trial from St Jude by 2020.[5][7]

In May 2019, Mustang Bio raised $32 million in an underwritten public offering to fund its continued development of products for the treatment of blood cancers, solid tumors, and rare genetic diseases.[12]

Therapies and treatments

Alongside the X-SCID therapy developed in partnership with St Jude (MB-107), Mustang Bio is conducting research and trials on CAR-T therapies for several diseases, including glioblastoma (MB-101, partnered with City of Hope National Medical Center), acute myeloid leukemia (MB-102, partnered with City of Hope National Medical Center), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (MB-106, with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center).[9][10][12]

In May 2019, an oncolytic virus licensed from Nationwide Children's Hospital for the treatment of malignant glioma (MB-108) was granted Orphan Drug status by the Food and Drug Administration.[13] Also in May 2019, the company began recruiting patients for a trial at City of Hope for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MB-104).[12]

In August 2019, Mustang Bio entered into a license agreement with CSL Behring for the Cytegrity stable producer cell line.[14]