Moderna has entered into a licensing deal with Generation Bio to develop immune cell and liver treatments. The partnership will expand the applications of both company’s platforms through the finding and development of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) using Generation’s cell targeted LNP (ctLNP) delivery system. In turn, it aims to develop nucleic acid therapeutics, including ones that are able to reach immune cells and thus advance their non-viral genetic medicines pipeline. “Generation Bio has designed a stealth LNP designed to be…
Author Archives: Millie Nelson
Cellipont bags investment from OrbiMed to complete Texas plant
Cellipont Bioservices will use the strategic debt facility investment from healthcare investment firm OrbiMed to finish its Texas plant. Cellipont Bioservices, previously known as Performance Cell Manufacturing, after being acquired by private equity firm Great Point Partners in January 2022 said the investment from OrbiMed will fully finance its cell therapy facility in The Woodlands, near Hosuton, Texas. The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed. However, the San Diego-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) announced its…
There is no quick fix for long-term talent gap issue, say experts
There are solutions available to alleviate talent shortages in the biopharma space but the issues cannot be solved quickly. There is a general consensus among professionals that the amount of talent coming through is not reflective of the huge investment in capacity being seen across the Life Sciences industry. The lack of qualified staff in the space is well documented, with the cell and gene therapy sector particularly affected. Solutions to minimize the talent gap have been provided by different players in…
J&J halts Carvykti UK launch but is manufacturing to blame?
Patient advocacy group Myeloma UK believes supply issues have caused Johnson & Johnson to not progress its CAR-T cell treatment Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel) in the UK. In March 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted authorization for Carvykti, a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy developed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its partner Legend Biotech, to treat white blood cell cancer. The treatment was being assessed in the UK by the National Institute of Health and Care…
Great Ormond Street Hospital and Leucid ink CAR-T manufacturing deal
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has agreed to manufacture Leucid Bio’s lead asset, LEU011 at the Zayed Center for Research in London, UK. Leucid, a UK clinical stage biotech firm, which is focused on developing chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies using its lateral CAR platform to treat refractory cancers, has collaborated with GOSH to manufacture LEU011, a lateral CAR targeting NKG2D ligands, for use in human clinical studies. “We decided to partner with GOSH to manufacture our CAR T-cell…
Flexibility is key when designing a CGT facility, says expert
There are obvious reasons a special design needs to be applied to the design of a cell and gene therapy (CGT) facility and flexibility is one of them, says Scitech Engineering. With increasing demand for capacity and capability in the CGT space and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) predicting that there will be 25 newly approved products by 2025, Ali Bahari, bioprocess design consultant at Scitech Engineering said it is no surprise that “lots of places are [adopting]…
Pfizer to acquire Seagen for $43 billion
After weeks of speculation, Pfizer has agreed to acquire antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) developer Seagen for $43 billion. The potential acquisition of Seagen (previously Seattle Genetics) has been circulating news outlets since June last year when the Wall Street Journal reported Merck & Co. was eyeing the Bothell, Washington based firm to increase its oncology offering. Most recently, the same outlet reported Pfizer was considering purchasing the ADC manufacturer, to which Mike Vandiver, executive director at Seagen, told BPI West delegates the rumored deal “is just noise,…
GTP Bioways and Texcell join forces to expand drug development offering
CDMO GTP Bioways and CRO Texcell have partnered to provide a “one stop shop” for biopharma customers outsourcing their molecules. The two French players have partnered , combining clinical research organization (CRO) TexCells’ biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing together with contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) GTP’s knowledge of viral testing, viral clearance, and bioassays. “Their complementary services of testing and development and manufacturing provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ for biopharmaceutical clients that are outsourcing the development of their molecules,” a spokesperson for…
Danaher partners with UPenn to advance cell therapy tech
The partnership aims to develop technologies to tackle manufacturing bottlenecks in the delivery of engineered cell products. The multi-year partnership between Danaher Corporation and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) looks to improve the consistency of clinical outcomes for patients by addressing manufacturing challenges associated with cellular immunotherapies. Both parties said the collaboration is driven by the scale of clinical development identified in the CAR-T cell therapy space. There are six US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CAR-T cell therapies:…
Adaptimmune merges with TCR² Therapeutics
The stock for stock transaction will see Adaptimmune shareholders own 75% of the combined company, which will target solid tumors. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, sees Adaptimmune and TCR² Therapeutics merge to create a cell therapy company for solid tumors through the use of their respective technology platforms. “This strategic combination brings together two culturally aligned companies at the forefront of the field to create a preeminent cell therapy company for solid…