Terumo BCT and BioCentriq Partner to Develop More Efficient CAR-T Cell Manufacturing; Plan to Publish Data at Upcoming Conferences in 2024
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT), a prominent medical technology company, is joining forces with BioCentriq, a clinical-phase Cell Therapy CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization), to launch a collaborative study aimed at demonstrating the capabilities of Terumo BCT’s automated cell and gene therapy platforms for accelerating CAR-T cell development. This partnership aims to generate and publish the first publicly available data on rapid CAR-T cell manufacturing using Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex and Finia platforms.
CAR-T cells, used in autologous therapies, involve engineering a patient’s own T cells to combat cancer, and then growing a sufficient quantity for treatment. Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex hollow-fiber perfusion technology provides an ideal cell culture environment, enabling continuous access to fresh media, waste removal, and gas exchange, ensuring optimal conditions for the extended cell therapy production process. Earlier this year, Terumo BCT showcased data demonstrating that the Quantum Flex could expand 6 million unmodified CD3+ T cells to over 2 billion viable cells in just eight days. Now, Terumo BCT seeks to share the first public data illustrating how their platforms can be applied in a commercially ready CAR-T workflow.
As part of this collaboration, Terumo BCT will transfer protocols for optimizing CAR-T cell expansion and final formulation for two of its platforms, the Quantum Flex and the automated Finia Fill and Finish System, which are already installed at BioCentriq’s Monmouth Junction, N.J. facility. BioCentriq’s experienced team will conduct several runs to confirm the robustness of the protocols and generate data directly from the devices using Terumo BCT’s Cell Processing Application (CPA). This combined CPA and cell analytics data will be presented at relevant industry conferences next year.
The study results will provide valuable data for CAR-T therapy developers, enabling them to assess the potential of process platforms to expedite their timelines and reduce costs, potentially bringing these promising cell therapies to patients more efficiently. The collaboration is expected to drive progress in the cell and gene therapy industry, with the study aiming to reduce development and scale-up timelines by up to 75 percent.