Opening of California facility helps us become a clinical stage company, says Senti

Senti Bio has opened its facility in Alameda, California where Phase I clinical materials for its lead investigational therapy will be produced.  

Senti Biosciences, a cell and gene therapy (CGT) firm, leased the 90,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Alameda in June 2021. Now, the company has opened the facility and said it is the latest step it has taken to become a clinical stage company.

“The opening of this new space is the latest step for Senti on its way to becoming a clinical stage company as Phase I clinical materials for Senti’s lead investigational therapy SENTI-202 will be manufactured at the site,” a spokesperson from Senti told BioProcess Insider.

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SENTI-202 is an off-the-shelf allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapy, which aims to treat relapsed or refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

“NK cells are derived from the blood of healthy donors,” the spokesperson said.

“The manufacturing process for SENTI-202 involves collecting of hundreds of millions of NK cells, using Senti’s proprietary process to efficiently gene modify the NK cells, freezing and storing the engineered cells for use in multiple batches, and providing up to thousands of CAR-NK doses per donor.”

11-year lease period

Senti first leased the plant in June 2021 and said the lease is set to expire in in 2032 “with future undiscounted operating lease payments of $46 million over an initial lease period of eleven years.”

The green electricity-powered facility has 35 employees, as well as the ability to support the production of various products. Senti claimed this reduces the requirement for external clinical development organizations.

The location has allowed the firm to build out its Bay Area footprint and the spokesperson said it also benefits from “a valuable talent pool.”