Servier selects Yposkesi for viral vector supply

The deal brings Servier access to CDMO Yposkesi’ lentiviral vector production for its Phase I allogeneic CAR-T candidate UCART19.

Servier has chosen contract development manufacturing and organization (CDMO) Yposkesi to provide the lentiviral vectors for its candidate UCART19, an off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell in trials for haematological malignancies.

According to the firm, its selection of fellow French CDMO came “after testing lentiviral vectors from several competitors and comparing the costs,” though financial and timelines details have not been divulged.

Image: iStock/metamorworks

However, the firm did tell us it is using a CDMO as it does not have inhouse capacity to make viral vectors.

Yposkesi claims to have the largest industrial platform for the GMP manufacture of viral vectors for gene therapies in Europe. This includes four independent production suites and two fill & finish suites, along with a 5,000 m² facility comprising of two independent suites equipped with 1,000 L single-use bioreactors currently under construction as a response to the high demand for viral vector supply.

UCART19

The Servier Group began development of UCART19 in 2015. Yposkesi joins MaSTherCell SA as a third-party manufacturer on the product. Servier inked a deal with MaSTherCell in 2017 for the development of a CAR-T cell therapy manufacturing platform, aimed at enabling industrial and commercial manufacturing of its cell therapy products.

“UCART19 is being developed under a joint clinical development collaboration between Servier and Allogene based on an exclusive license granted by Cellectis to Servier,” a spokesperson from the firm told us.

“UCART19 utilizes the TALEN gene-editing technology pioneered and owned by Cellectis. Servier grants to Allogene exclusive rights to UCART19 in the US while Servier retains exclusive rights for all other countries.”

Allogene took over the rights to UCART19 as part of a deal with Pfizer when the firm was formed in April 2018.