Gilead Sciences-owned cell therapy leader Kite Pharma is widening its roster through acquisition, acquiring Carl June-founded Tmunity and its suite of autologous CAR-T therapies born out of the University of Pennsylvania labs.

Deaths associated with Astellas Pharma’s gene therapy program for patients with X-linked Myotubular Myopathy underscore some of the risks of developing potential one-and-done treatment options for serious diseases.

Tmunity, a clinical stage biotherapeutics company, said it is abandoning its lead program after two trial participants died due to neurotoxicity, Endpoints News reported June 2.

Tmunity was founded in 2015 by Oz Azam, MD, and Carl June, MD, the famed immunologist who pioneered T-cell therapies for cancer. Both physicians worked on CAR-T cell initiatives at Novartis before creating Tmunity, a spinout from the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania.