Cell therapy weekly: Envirotainer launches CryoSure platform for cryogenic shipping
This week: Envirotainer launches CryoSure platform for cryogenic shipping, Lykan Bioscience expands its cell therapy clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity, and Athenex announces a license agreement with the National Cancer Institute to utilize T–cell receptors for the development of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies.
The news highlights:
- Envirotainer launches CryoSure platform for cryogenic shipping
- Lykan Bioscience to expand its cell therapy clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity
- Athenex announces license agreement with National Cancer Institute for cell therapy development
Envirotainer launches CryoSure platform for cryogenic shipping
Envirotainer (Sollentuna, Sweden), a company focused on secure cold chain solutions for intercontinental shipments of pharmaceuticals, is launching the CryoSure platform. The -70oC solution is designed to withstand long shipments, combined with risks for delays, supply and handling of dry ice and human errors. Unlike most temperature-controlled pharmaceutical shipment solutions that have temperatures ranging from 2-8°C and 15-25°, the new platform caters to products within cell and gene clinical development and mRNA vaccines that have to be transported below -70oC.
“Envirotainer has been leading the way ever since the beginning of the temperature-controlled shipments and it is with great pride that we today announce the launch of CryoSure. We believe CryoSure fills a substantial gap in the cryogenic -70°C shipment market and significantly improves patient safety,” said Peter Gisel-Ekdahl, CEO at Envirotainer.
The four models of the CryoSure platform are X1, X2, X5 and X11.
Lykan Bioscience to expand its cell therapy clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity
Lykan BioScience, (MA, USA), a contract development and manufacturing organization focused on cell-based therapies, has announced its plans to expand its purpose-built facility in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The expansion is driven by the growing demand for cell therapy process development and manufacturing. With capabilities for both autologous and allogeneic production, the expansion will see seven ISO 7 cGMP suites added to the existing facility. The extension will include the addition of a 1,700 square foot laboratory, to the process and analytical development capabilities, to support partner programs and CMC innovation.
Lykan President and CEO Patrick Lucy, said: “The funding support from our investors for this expansion will help us meet our partners’ growing demand for capacity. Lykan is partner focused and patient driven, we believe the Lykan manufacturing facility sets the standard for cell therapy manufacturing, and we intend to maintain a world class facility and team to meet the future demands of the cell therapy industry.”
The expansion aims to be commissioned and operational by Q4 2022.
Athenex announces license agreement with National Cancer Institute for cell therapy development
Global biopharmaceutical company, Athenex (NY, USA) has announced a licensing agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to expand the development of T–cell receptor TCR–based allogeneic natural killer T (NKT) cell and autologous T–cell therapeutic products for the treatment of solid tumors.
Athenex will be granted worldwide rights to the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of allogeneic NKT products engineered through viral and non-viral means, as well as autologous T–cell therapy products engineered through retrovirus and lentivirus-mediated gene transfer.
“We are very pleased to have entered this licensing agreement that covers these important T-cell receptors. KRAS and p53 are the most commonly mutated genes in epithelial cancers, including lung and colorectal cancers,” said Daniel Lang, President, Athenex Cell Therapy. “By expressing these TCRs in our NKT cell platform, we are able to potentially expand beyond hematologic malignancies into solid tumors, and therefore expand the market by over one hundred thousand patients in the US annually. Licensing these clinically important TCRs builds on the foundation we started by acquiring Kuur Therapeutics, and we believe further advances our objectives to be one of the leaders in cell therapy.”
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