Umoja Biopharma delayed its first clinical readout for an in‑vivo CAR‑T program, citing operational and timeline adjustments, while academic teams disclosed preclinical next‑generation CAR‑T constructs that show improved safety and persistence in mouse models. Umoja’s postponement reduces near‑term visibility for an important in‑vivo CAR‑T competitor and shifts the timing of expected clinical proof points. At the Keck School of Medicine, researchers published data on ZAP327‑driven CARs that produced robust antitumor activity in mice with fewer toxic effects, signaling a possible path to safer cellular therapies. Combined, the news underscores a bifurcated CAR‑T agenda: companies racing to scale in‑vivo and ex‑vivo platforms, and academics engineering signaling domains to improve persistence and lower cytokine release syndrome risk. Translational teams and investors will watch for human data that confirm murine safety/persistence advantages and for Umoja’s rescheduled readout to assess the in‑vivo platform’s viability.