Cabaletta to TAP into Cellares' cell shuttle

Cabaletta Bio and Cellares have collaborated to evaluate the latter’s cell shuttle platform through its Technology Adoption Partnership (TAP) program. 

Self-acclaimed integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO), Cellares and Cabaletta Bio have agreed to a technology transfer process to produce the Philadelphia-based biotech’s clinical-stage CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product candidate CABA-201, using Cellares’ cell shuttle technology. 

“As we continue to pursue our goal of developing and launching the first targeted curative cellular therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases, we are actively evaluating and pursuing means to efficiently scale manufacturing in order to meet the potential demand from patients,” said Gwendolyn Binder, president of science and technology at Cabaletta.  

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“Cellares has made impressive progress with their automated cell therapy manufacturing capabilities. Their dedication to deploying these technologies at scale aligns well with our goal of bringing potentially transformative therapies to patients with autoimmune diseases.” 

CABA-201 is a 4-1BB-containing fully human CD19-CAR T cell investigational therapy to potentially eliminate B cells throughout the body and enable an immune system to reset in autoimmune disease. It is currently under evaluation in phase I/II clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus, myositis, systemic sclerosis, and generalized myasthenia gravis. 

“This partnership enables us to leverage the unique capabilities of our Cell Shuttle platform to accelerate the production of CABA-201. Through our TAP program, we aim to fully automate all cell therapy manufacturing processes, thereby bringing us a step closer to potentially delivering CAR T cell therapies for patients with a broad range of autoimmune diseases. Together, we’re not just enhancing manufacturing efficiency, but also fostering an environment that can facilitate the rapid advancement of life-altering therapies,” said Fabian Gerlinghaus, CEO for Cellares. 

The Californian firm has also partnered with Poseida Therapeutics, PACT Pharma, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to assess its cell shuttle platform through TAP. Recently, Cellares collaborated with Bristol Myers Squibb on the same, and raised $255 million to establish a cell therapy facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey. 

Around the same time, Cabaletta Bio and WuXi Advanced Therapies agreed to manufacture Cabaletta’s CABA-201.