Cell therapy weekly: Cellino Biotech secures US$80 million to autonomize AI driven stem cell therapy manufacturing

Written by Sarah Rehman
Cell therapy Gene therapy Industry developments iPSCs News News round-up

This week: Cellino Biotech secures US$80 million in Series A financing led by Leaps by Bayer to autonomize AI driven stem cell therapy manufacturing, Excellos launches with US$15 million in growth funding to accelerate the advancement of cell and gene therapies, Strategic alliance: Pluristyx partnership with panCELLa and Implant Therapeutics to offer next generation of safe and efficient induced pluripotent stem cells and StemCultures announce the launch of FGF2 DISC™ device to deliver consistent concentration of fibroblast growth factor in cell cultures.

The news highlights:

Cellino Biotech secures US$80 million autonomize AI driven stem cell therapy manufacturing

Cellino Biotech (MA, USA), an autonomous cell therapy manufacturing company, has revealed the achievement of a Series A financing of US$80 million, led by Leaps by Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany), 8VC (CA, USA) and Humboldt Fund (NY, USA). The company’s total gross proceeds reach US$96 million, with several new and existing investors including Felicis Ventures (CA, USA), The Engine (MA, USA) and Khosla Ventures (CA, USA).

The manufacturing platform combines artificial intelligence and laser technology to automate cell therapy manufacturing to reduce costs and overcome scaling limitations. As part of these efforts, Cellino Biotech seek to build the first autonomous human cell foundry by 2025. The funds will expand Cellino’s machine learning software and hardware capabilities, as well as develop early-stage Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidance to support clinical trials.

Cellino’s mission is to expand patient access to stem cell-based regenerative medicines. “We are grateful for the support of new and existing investors who are committed to building an AI-driven future for regenerative medicine. I am honored to lead and grow a team of industry experts across laser physics, deep learning, and stem cell biology who are on a mission to democratize cell therapies for all eligible patients,” explained Nabiha Saklayen, CEO and Co-Founder of Cellino.

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Excellos launches with US$15 million in growth funding to accelerate the advancement of cell and gene therapies

The launch of Excellos (CA, USA), a new contract development and manufacturing organization was announced at Phacilitate’s Advanced Therapies Week conference in (25 – 28 January 2022; Miami, Florida). The organization has officially launched on the foundation of the San Diego Blood Bank (CA, USA) and US$15 million in growth funding from Telegraph Hill Partners (CA, USA).

Excellos have previously worked with therapeutic companies to develop chimeric antibody receptor-engineered T-cells, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and to provide isolated immune cells. Their network spans nine San Diego Blood Bank centers, giving them exclusive access to consented material from the public cord blood bank. Further, their access to a nationwide collection network gives them one of the largest cellular material procurement portfolios.

“We look forward to partnering with Excellos and their proven leadership team. Their exclusive access to one of the industry’s largest donor bases, coupled with their technology-focused research and development activities, will help to accelerate the advancement of cell and gene therapies for those patients in need,” commented Paul Grossman, Partner at Telegraph Hill Partners.

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Strategic alliance: Pluristyx partners with panCELLa and Implant Therapeutics to offer next generation of safe and efficient induced pluripotent stem cells

Pluristyx, Inc. (WA, USA), PanCELLa (Toronto, Canada), and Implant Therapeutics (MD, USA) announced their collaboration in a strategic manufacturing and distribution alliance to offer cell therapy companies efficient access to the next generation of safe, universal and cost-effective induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

The alliance will allow the commercial use of panCELLa’s FailSafe™ iPSCs, as well as Implant’s hypoimmunogenic technology. Pluristyx will incorporate these two together to make custom iPSC lines to meet unique client needs, as well as manufacture and distribute both research and clinical grade panCELLa-owned iPSC lines.

“We evaluated many manufacturing partners and concluded that Pluristyx’s proprietary platform and mRNA reprogramming technologies provided the ideal complement to our platform technologies. We think this combination of complementary skills will enable wide dissemination of our technology,” stated Mahendra Rao, Chief Executive Officer of Implant Therapeutics.

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StemCultures announce the launch of FGF2 DISC™ device to deliver consistent concentration of fibroblast growth factor in cell cultures

StemCultures (NY, USA), a life sciences company specializing in novel reagents development, has announced the release of their latest product. The FGF2 DISC™ is a device that aims to control recombinant human fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) concentration and create a more physiologic cell culture environment to improve cell growth.

The FGF2 DISC™ consists of biodegradable StemBeads® loaded with FGF2 in a non-biodegradable, biocompatible hydrogel device, which can be removed from the culture after usage. The product has high value in stem cell and iPSC cultures to decrease spontaneous differentiation, increase pluripotency and guide preferential differentiation.

“The use of FGF2 DISC™ devices to deliver a consistent concentration is key to higher quality cultures and higher quality, more consistent cells,” concluded Sally Temple, President of StemCultures.

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