Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. and Lonza announced that the companies have entered into an agreement for the development of CAP-1002, its leading clinical asset using allogeneic cardiosphere-derived cells (CDC) technology for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and complications arising from COVID-19. CAP-1002 completed the positive HOPE-2 phase 2 clinical trial and has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of DMD. CAP-1002 also received FDA acceptance of its IND application for a phase 2 clinical trial of CAP-1002 in patients with COVID-19 in August 2020, as announced by Capricor.