CAR T-cell therapy

Cell and gene therapies often promise unparalleled treatment options for patients, but sometimes those benefits come at an extraordinary cost. The therapy class is responsible for the world’s most expensive drugs, including the recently FDA-approved gene therapy, Libmeldy, with a wholesale acquisition cost of $4.25 million. The prior record holder, Hemgenix, had a $3.5 million…

Therapy persistence is a vital factor in determining the success of CAR-Ts for blood cancers like leukemia. While CAR-Ts hold great promise for blood cancers such as leukemia, in some cases, the durability of the treatment falls short, leading to a potential relapse. A positive study from researchers at University College London, Great Ormond Street…

The startup Cellares has a mission to enable industrial-scale cell therapy manufacturing with its Cell Shuttle, which it dubs a “factory in a box.” The germ for the idea traces back to market research that South San Francisco, California-based Cellares co-founder and CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus focused on in a prior role. While attending industry conferences,…

The life sciences industry has just scratched the surface in terms of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy’s potential, according to a session at the Novartis Breakthrough Science media event held on November 10. CAR-T therapy, which has emerged as one of the most promising new treatments for multiple myeloma, certain lymphomas and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia,…

Cellares Corp. (South San Francisco, Calif.), which is focused on accelerating cell therapy manufacturing, is teaming up with Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. as part of its Early Access Partnership Program (EAPP). Poseida is the third company to join the program after PACT Pharma and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “We’ve had relationships with several key stakeholders within Poseida for years,” said…