Kite Pharma, Gilead’s cell-therapy unit, struck a headline licensing and collaboration agreement with China’s Pregene that could reach roughly $1.64 billion, including upfront and milestones, to accelerate in vivo CAR-T development. The deal—announced by both companies—pairs Kite’s development experience with Pregene’s in vivo platforms and manufacturing capabilities, targeting oncology and autoimmune indications. Kite paid an initial $120 million and will fund joint research to advance in vivo CAR-T approaches intended to generate CAR T cells inside patients rather than via ex vivo manufacturing. Executives framed the partnership as a route to broaden access and simplify cell therapy logistics. The agreement follows broader industry consolidation around in vivo approaches and marks another major investment in next-generation cell therapy modalities as companies seek scalable alternatives to complex autologous manufacturing.