Tempest Therapeutics Stock Jumps 21% on In Vivo CAR-T Licensing Deal with Senlang Bio

Tempest Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TPST) saw its shares rise sharply in after-hours trading Tuesday after announcing an exclusive option agreement with Hebei Senlang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. to license a portfolio of novel CAR-T product candidates. The deal gives Tempest potential access to an innovative platform that generates cancer-fighting cells directly inside the patient's body.

Details of the Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, Tempest has the option to license Senlang’s CD7-targeted lentiviral vector platform for developing *in vivo* CAR-T therapies. According to the company's announcement, this would complement Tempest's own in vivo CAR-T delivery platform, which is slated to enter clinical trials later this year.

The portfolio includes a promising candidate for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma that is currently in a Phase 1 dose-escalation study. This therapy features a dual-targeting CAR directed against BCMA and GPRC5D, two clinically validated targets for the disease.

Matt Angel, CEO of Tempest, stated that the agreement is an "important step in building Tempest as a multi-platform in vivo CAR-T company focused on immune reset for oncology and autoimmune indications."

A Novel CAR-T Approach

Senlang's technology represents a significant potential advancement over conventional autologous CAR-T therapies. The platform uses lentiviral vectors to deliver CAR transgenes to a patient's own CD7-positive T cells and natural killer (NK) cells.

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This process is designed to generate CAR-T and CAR-NK cells directly *in vivo*, or within the body. This approach could eliminate the complex and costly logistics of traditional methods, which require collecting a patient's cells, shipping them to a lab for modification, and then re-infusing them.

Market Impact and Early Data

Investors reacted positively to the news, sending shares of Tempest Therapeutics up 21% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. The enthusiasm is partly supported by encouraging early clinical observations from Senlang's lead program.

Key takeaways from the ongoing Phase 1 trial include:

• Successful generation and expansion of CAR-T cells in patients at the highest evaluable dose.
• A favorable safety profile as of August 25, with no observed instances of Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).

Tempest and Senlang will continue to evaluate the Phase 1 results and the broader product portfolio during the option period. The portfolio also includes candidates for other hematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases.