What Umoja Biopharma does

Umoja Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, developing in vivo CAR T cell therapies intended to address unmet needs in B-cell hematologic malignancies, multiple myeloma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, autoimmune disease, and solid tumors. The company's core technology is the VivoVec platform, a surface-engineered lentiviral vector delivery system using Multi-Domain Fusion (MDF) surface engineering and cocal fusion glycoprotein pseudotyping to generate CAR T cells directly inside the patient's body via a single infusion, eliminating ex vivo cell manufacturing and lymphodepleting chemotherapy. VivoVec is complemented by three integrated platforms: RACR (Rapamycin-Activated Cytokine Receptor) for in vivo cell expansion and persistence, TumorTag bispecific small molecule adaptors for tagging tumor cells for destruction by universal TagCAR T cells, and Engineered iPSCs for allogeneic off-the-shelf cell therapy manufacturing. Umoja is the only in vivo CAR T cell company with in-house CGMP manufacturing, operating the 146,000 sq ft CLIMB facility in Louisville, Colorado (opened October 2023, fully operational 2024), with additional R&D and process development in Boulder.

Umoja's pipeline comprises five programs: UB-VV111 (CD19 in vivo CAR T, FDA IND cleared 2024, Fast Track Designation September 30, 2025; Phase 1 NCT06528301, partnered with AbbVie under an exclusive option), UB-VV400/410 (CD22, Phase 1 NCT06743503, partnered with IASO Biotherapeutics for NHL and autoimmune indications), UB-VV300/310 (CD20, IND-enabling preclinical), UB-VV500 (industry-first dual-targeted BCMA x GPRC5D in vivo CAR T for multiple myeloma, preclinical data at ASGCT May 13, 2026, Phase 1 planned by end of 2026), and UB-TT170 (TumorTag targeting folate receptors in osteosarcoma, Phase 1 ENLIGHTen trial at Seattle Children's). The company is pre-revenue and clinical-stage, with no approved products. Operations are funded by equity financings — a $210M Series B in June 2021 (co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Cormorant Asset Management) and a $100M Series C in January 2025 (co-led by Double Point Ventures and DCVC Bio) — supplemented by licensing and co-development capital from AbbVie (CD19 option), Nona Biosciences (expanded November 2025), and IASO Biotherapeutics (CD22 in-license). The commercial model is built around out-licensing, milestone payments, and eventual royalties via strategic pharma partners, with future distribution anticipated through specialty oncology and cell therapy centers following the established CAR T standard of care.

Name

Umoja Biopharma

Legal name

Umoja Biopharma, Inc.

Website

https://umoja-biopharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Umoja Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing in vivo CAR T cell therapies using its proprietary VivoVec lentiviral platform to generate CAR T cells directly inside patients, targeting B-cell malignancies, multiple myeloma, and solid tumors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In Vivo CAR T Cell Therapy

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stem Cell Therapies (MSC/iPSC/HSC-derived) (HLAAABAE), Cell Therapy Manufacturing Platforms & Automation (closed systems, bioreactors, fill-finish) (HLAAABAG)

Keywords

• In vivo CAR T therapy
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Lentiviral vector platform
• Cell therapy manufacturing
• Engineered T cell therapies

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Out-licensing option / milestone payments: AbbVie retains an exclusive option to license Umoja's CD19-directed in vivo CAR T cell therapy candidates, including UB-VV111. Future revenue would come from option exercise fees, milestone payments, and royalties upon commercialization.
2. Co-development milestone payments: Expanded collaboration with Nona Biosciences to develop multiple in vivo CAR-T products includes financial milestones for Nona Biosciences; Umoja will handle further development and commercialization.
3. Pre-revenue clinical-stage operations: Company is clinical-stage and has not yet generated product revenue; operations are funded by equity financings (Series B $210M in 2021, Series C $100M in 2025) and strategic partner capital.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Umoja Biopharma develops in vivo CAR T cell therapies using its proprietary VivoVec platform, a surface-engineered lentiviral vector delivery system that generates chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directly inside the patient's body via a single infusion. The approach eliminates the weeks-to-months-long ex vivo cell manufacturing process and the need for lymphodepleting chemotherapy, with complementary platforms (RACR, TumorTag, Engineered iPSCs) supporting in vivo cell expansion, tumor targeting, and allogeneic manufacturing.

Product overview

Umoja Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering in vivo CAR T cell therapies through an integrated platform-plus-modules architecture. The core technology platform, VivoVec, is a surface-engineered lentiviral vector delivery system that generates CAR T cells directly inside the patient's body, bypassing the complexity of ex vivo manufacturing. VivoVec is complemented by two synergistic modular platforms: the RACR (Rapamycin-Activated Cytokine Receptor) platform, which enhances survival and expansion of in vivo-engineered cells (and also drives ShRED differentiation of iPSCs), and the TumorTag platform, a portfolio of bispecific small molecule adaptors that selectively label tumor cells for recognition by universal TagCAR T cells. Together these three platforms power Umoja's pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates: UB-VV111 (CD19 in vivo CAR T, FDA Fast Track Designation), UB-VV400/410 (CD22 in vivo CAR T, in-licensed from IASO Biotherapeutics), UB-VV300/310 (CD20 in vivo CAR T), UB-VV500 (BCMA x GPRC5D dual-targeted in vivo CAR T for multiple myeloma), and UB-TT170 (TumorTag targeting folate receptors for osteosarcoma). The Engineered iPSCs platform provides an allogeneic, off-the-shelf manufacturing route. All in vivo CAR T candidates are manufactured at Umoja's company-owned CLIMB facility in Louisville, Colorado, the only in-house lentiviral vector manufacturing capability among in vivo CAR T cell companies. Umoja's CD19 program (UB-VV111) is out-licensed to AbbVie under an exclusive option, while UB-VV400/410 is in-licensed from IASO Biotherapeutics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VivoVec: Umoja's flagship proprietary in vivo gene delivery platform that enables the in vivo generation of CAR T cells within the patient's body using a lentiviral vector delivery system.
• RACR (Rapamycin-Activated Cytokine Receptor)
• TumorTag

Products and services

• VivoVec Platform Surface-engineered lentiviral vector delivery platform that generates CAR T cells directly within the patient's body via a single infusion, bypassing ex vivo cell production. Features Multi-Domain Fusion (MDF) surface engineering and cocal fusion glycoprotein pseudotyping, and is modular to deliver any CAR payload against multiple surface targets. Licensed for CD19 candidates to AbbVie under exclusive option.
• RACR (Rapamycin-Activated Cytokine Receptor) Platform Synthetic cytokine receptor system combined with VivoVec to provide enhanced survival and expansion to in vivo-generated immune cells. Activated by rapamycin (an FDA-approved drug) to provide a proliferative signal that can replace lymphodepleting chemotherapy; also enables Synthetic Receptor Enabled Differentiation (ShRED) of iPSCs.
• TumorTag Platform Portfolio of bispecific small molecule adaptors that selectively bind tumor or tumor stromal cells and label them with fluorescein (or other tags), marking them for destruction by universal TagCAR T cells. Cocktails of TumorTags enable labeling of multiple targets to address antigen escape and tumor heterogeneity in solid tumors.
• Engineered iPSCs Platform Induces pluripotent stem cells engineered with RACR and universal TagCAR to produce off-the-shelf, allogeneic immune effector cells (RACR-iCIL) with unlimited expansion capacity, genomic consistency, and protection against host-versus-graft rejection.
• UB-VV111 Investigational off-the-shelf in vivo CAR T cell therapy targeting CD19 for hematologic malignancies, including relapsed/refractory Large B-cell Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Generates CD19-directed CAR T cells in vivo using VivoVec platform, eliminating ex vivo manufacturing and lymphodepletion. First in vivo CAR T to receive FDA IND clearance.
• UB-VV400/410 In vivo CAR T cell therapy program targeting CD22 for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and autoimmune diseases, built on the VivoVec platform. In-licensed from IASO Biotherapeutics. Phase 1 trial ongoing (NCT06743503).
• UB-VV300/310 Preclinical in vivo CAR T cell therapy program targeting CD20, currently in IND-enabling stage of preclinical development. Built on the VivoVec platform.
• UB-VV500 Umoja's dual-targeted BCMA x GPRC5D in vivo CAR T cell therapy program for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Described as the industry's first combination BCMA x GPRC5D in vivo CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma, addressing antigen escape after single-target BCMA therapy.
• UB-TT170 Proprietary TumorTag small molecule that selectively binds to folate receptors (FR) on tumor cells, labels them with fluorescein, and marks them for destruction by anti-fluorescein CAR T cells. Initial indication in osteosarcoma (up to 80% of osteosarcoma tumor samples show FR expression). Being evaluated in the Phase 1 ENLIGHTen clinical trial at Seattle Children's.
• CLIMB (Colorado Laboratory & Innovative Manufacturing Building) Company-owned 146,000 square-foot lentiviral vector development and manufacturing facility in Louisville, Colorado, co-located with R&D labs. Umoja is the only in vivo CAR T cell therapy company with in-house manufacturing capacity, using a suspension-based process with both transient transfection and stable producer cell line technologies to produce VivoVec-based drug products.

Quantifiable outcome

• UB-VV111 was the first in vivo CAR T cell therapy to receive FDA IND clearance in 2024 and FDA Fast Track Designation in September 2025.
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and flagship.

• Nona BiosciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Expanded collaboration to develop multiple in vivo CAR-T products using combined platforms. The agreement includes financial milestones for Nona Biosciences; Umoja will handle further development and commercialization of the resulting therapies.
• AbbVieflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2024AbbVie holds an exclusive option to license Umoja's CD19-directed in vivo CAR T cell therapy candidates, including UB-VV111 (NCT06528301). AbbVie's existing $1.4 billion option deal is widely noted by industry analysts as a key strategic consideration for any future acquisition of Umoja.
• Seattle Children's Research InstitutemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 3 May 2022Phase 1 ENLIGHTen trial partnership for UB-TT170 TumorTag with Seattle Children's Therapeutics providing anti-fluorescein CAR T cells manufactured in their Cure Factory GMP facility. Seattle Children's also founded the underlying scientific work supporting Umoja.
• IASO BiotherapeuticsmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIn-licensing partner for Umoja's CD22-directed program (UB-VV400/410) for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and autoimmune indications, currently in Phase 1 (NCT06743503).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Capstan Therapeutics: Capstan Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech developing in vivo CAR T cell therapies using lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of mRNA. Directly comparable to Umoja as an in vivo CAR T peer pursuing the same core thesis of generating CAR T cells inside the patient without ex vivo manufacturing.
• Interius BioTherapeutics: Interius was a clinical-stage in vivo CAR T company using viral vector delivery to generate CAR T cells in vivo. Acquired by Gilead/Kite for $350M, validating the in vivo CAR T category and providing a comparable benchmark for Umoja's platform approach.
• Kelonia Therapeutics: Kelonia is an in vivo CAR T company using lentiviral vector delivery. Acquired by Eli Lilly for approximately $7B, representing the largest in vivo CAR T exit to date and a key comparable for valuing Umoja's platform.
• Caribou Biosciences: Caribou Biosciences is a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing allogeneic CAR T cell therapies using CRISPR gene editing. Comparable to Umoja as a cell therapy platform company pursuing off-the-shelf CAR T approaches, though using ex vivo rather than in vivo manufacturing.
• Allogene Therapeutics: Allogene Therapeutics is a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing allogeneic (off-the-shelf) CAR T cell therapies for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Comparable to Umoja as an off-the-shelf CAR T peer addressing the same patient access barriers, though using ex vivo allogeneic manufacturing.
• CRISPR Therapeutics: CRISPR Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene editing company developing CRISPR/Cas9-edited allogeneic CAR T cell therapies. Comparable to Umoja as a next-generation engineered cell therapy peer with active clinical CAR T programs in hematologic malignancies.

Emerging players

• Ensoma: Ensoma is a genomics medicine company developing in vivo gene editing and cell therapy using engineered viral vectors. Comparable as an in vivo engineered cell therapy peer, though with a broader gene editing focus rather than purely CAR T.

Broad incumbents

• Bristol Myers Squibb: Bristol Myers Squibb markets Breyanzi (liso-cel) and Abecma (ide-cel) CAR T cell therapies. Comparable to Umoja as a broad incumbent offering commercial CAR T products in the same B-cell and multiple myeloma indications Umoja is pursuing with UB-VV111 and UB-VV500.
• Gilead Sciences (Kite): Gilead's Kite Pharma division markets Yescarta and Tecartus CAR T cell therapies for hematologic malignancies. Comparable to Umoja as a broad incumbent with active in vivo CAR T investment (Interius acquisition $350M) overlapping with Umoja's pipeline indications.
• Novartis: Novartis markets Kymriah, the first FDA-approved CAR T cell therapy, and has active cell therapy pipeline investment. Comparable to Umoja as a broad incumbent in CAR T cell therapy commercialization, particularly relevant given AbbVie's option on Umoja's CD19 program (Kymriah's primary indication).

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/umoja-biopharma
• Xx.com/UmojaBiopharma

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors17 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Umoja Biopharma