BMS reports data that could give its cell therapy an edge over rival J&J product
Bristol Myers Squibb has data showing that its multiple myeloma treatment Abecma beat the standard of care, preliminary Phase 3 results that could support moving […]
cell therapy
FDA hits pause on Beam Therapeutics’ off-the-shelf cell therapy for blood cancers
Beam Therapeutics’ application to begin human testing of a cell therapy made with base-editing technology is now under an FDA clinical hold. In other clinical […]
Vertex builds up pipeline of type 1 diabetes cell therapies with $320M buyout
Vertex Pharmaceuticals already has a cell therapy candidate for type 1 diabetes but the company says acquiring rival ViaCyte will provide it with complementary assets […]
Vertex buys diabetes cell therapy rival ViaCyte for $320m
Vertex has doubled down on cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D), buying ViaCyte in a $320 million deal that it says will accelerate development […]
Astellas teams up with UK biotech Mogrify on hearing loss project
Cell therapy specialist Mogrify has struck a deal with Japanese drugmaker Astellas to look at ways to deploy regenerative medicine to treat hearing loss caused […]
BMS cancer drug’s expanded approval gives it an edge over a Gilead cell therapy
The new FDA approval for Breyanzi moves the Bristol Myers Squibb cancer cell therapy into an earlier line of treatment for an aggressive type of […]
Tessa Therapeutics takes in $126M for cell therapies, and more biotech financings
Ten biotech companies were able to raise more than $500 million in combined financing in the past week. Here’s a recap of the funding activity, […]
CAR T without the toxicity: Kelonia gets $50M for a new take on cell therapy
Kelonia Therapeutics is developing cell therapies made by the in vivo engineering of a patient’s cells made possible by the targeted delivery of a genetic […]
Aiming to treat Parkinson’s by replacing neurons, Aspen Neuroscience nabs $147M
Aspen Neurosciences is developing a cell therapy that uses a patient’s own stem cells to develop a personalized treatment for Parkinson’s disease. The approach is […]
How cell & gene therapy startups can warm up to investors in this “biotech nuclear winter”
Cell and gene therapy research has been hot the past few years but the overall market has cooled down in recent months. During the World […]
Kymriah is first CAR-T cleared for follicular lymphoma in EU
Novartis’ CAR-T Kymriah has become the first therapy in the category to be approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, ahead of Gilead Sciences’ […]
BMS shows what’s NEX-T for CAR T, plus its strategy for next-gen cancer cell therapy
As an oncologist, Kristen Hege first encountered cancer cell therapy research in the mid-1990s. Now as a Bristol Myers Squibb executive, she oversees efforts to […]
WMIF panel: How cell and gene therapy can overcome limitations of CAR T
CAR T cell therapies for cancer still pose challenges in manufacturing, safety, and the ability to address solid tumors. A panel at the World Medical […]
Nkarta leaps on early CAR-NK data in blood cancers
Shares in Nkarta more than doubled yesterday on the results of early-stage clinical that suggested it could be on to a winner with its natural […]
Nkarta’s natural killers flash potential as next-gen cell therapies for cancer
Two natural killer (NK)cell therapy candidates from Nkarta now have preliminary Phase 1 clinical data suggesting these therapies are helping patients in two types of […]
3rd Gamma Delta T Therapies Summit
Join the 3rd Gamma Delta T Therapies Summit to learn and network with 120+ of the world’s leaders including γδT pioneer, Adrian Hayday, and together […]
A biotech’s bold vision to turn stem cell transplants into outpatient procedures
Versant Ventures has launched Cimeio Therapeutics, a biotech startup with technology that can shield transplanted stem cells or cell therapies. Shielding these cells enables them […]
Cell therapy developer Be Bio hauls in $130M for pipeline in rare disease, cancer
Be Biopharma is developing cell therapies by engineering B cells to churn out therapeutic proteins with an initial focus on cancer and rare disease. The […]
Cell therapy biotech Aurion gets $120M to restore vision and revamp organ donor economics
Organ donation has long been a matter of demand outstripping supply, but Aurion Biotech aims to improve the supply part of the equation with a […]
Bayer reloads Leaps with €1.3 billion to step up investments in biotech innovation
Bayer is committing another €1.3 billion to Leaps by Bayer, the company’s investment arm, to support additional investments in companies developing innovative technologies in healthcare […]
Cell therapy biotech Affini-T gets $175M; KRAS is lead genomic cancer target
Affini-T Therapeutics is developing new cell therapies for cancer that could overcome limitations of the first generation of cell therapies. The initial genomic cancer targets […]
Bayer backs KRAS TCR player Affini-T in $175m financing
Bayer’s venture capital unit has co-led a $175 million investment in Affini-T that will be used to take its T cell receptor (TCR) therapies for […]
J&J, Legend win FDA nod for cell therapy challenger to BMS in multiple myeloma
Approval of the Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech cell therapy, Carvykti, marks the second CAR T-cell therapy to clear the regulatory bar for multiple […]
Cancer biotech Indapta nabs $50M for new approach to natural killer cell therapy
Natural killers cells are the focus of a growing number of companies pursuing next-generation cell therapies for cancer. Indapta Therapeutics focuses on a subset of […]
Arcellx’s IPO raises $124M to fuel chase of better CAR T-cell therapy for cancer
Clinical-stage Arcellx raised $123.8 million from its IPO, which the company will use to advance to a pivotal test for its lead program, a CAR […]
ImmPACT Bio reels in $111M to prevent tumor escape with novel cell therapies
Despite the targeted approach of some cancer treatments, tumors can find ways to escape, leading patients to relapse. ImmPACT Bio will apply its Series B […]
BMS cuts $3.15bn deal with Century for cancer cell therapies
Bristol-Myers Squibb chief executive Giovanni Caforio has promised to invest in the company’s pipeline at the virtual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, and demonstrated that commitment […]
BMS puts $150M on the table in off-the-shelf cell therapy alliance with Century
Bristol Myers Squibb is partnering with Century Therapeutics, placing a $150 million bet that the biotech’s technology for engineering stem cells can produce new off-the-shelf […]
Sanofi’s overhaul of genomic medicines strategy spells end of Sangamo alliance
A Sanofi strategy shift is leading to the end of a gene-editing alliance with Sangamo Therapeutics. Though the partnership has produced encouraging early clinical data […]
Cell therapy, AI drug discovery highlight 2021’s record year in biotech IPOs
The biggest biotech IPO of 2021 belongs to a cell therapy developer that has yet to reach the clinic. Cell therapy and artificial intelligence were […]
Early clinical data validate rare immune cell for Adicet’s off-the-shelf cancer therapy
Adicet Bio makes its therapies from gamma delta T cells, a rare type of immune cell that the company believes offer advantages compared to other […]
Milestone as EMA starts review of Atara’s ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapy
Atara Biotherapeutics’ tabelecleucel (tab-cel) has become the first ‘allogeneic’ cell therapy – in other words one which doesn’t involve harvesting cells from patients – to […]
Cell therapy biotech Quell adds $156M for alternative to organ transplant meds
Quell Therapeutics’ $156 million Series B round comes as it prepares to advance to a clinical trial testing its lead regulatory T cell therapy candidate […]
Blackstone revs up Autolus’ CAR with $250m fuel injection
Private equity firm Blackstone has agreed to provide up to $250 million in financing to UK biotech Autolus Therapeutics, to help it take acute lymphoblastic […]
Cell therapy biotech PlateletBio reels in $75M as it looks ahead to first clinical test
PlateletBio trails Sanofi among others in pursuit of a new therapy for a rare blood clotting disorder that has few treatments. But the biotech startup […]
Talaris therapy ends need for immune drugs in transplant patients
Two kidney transplant patients who received a stem cell therapy developed by Talaris Therapeutics were able to come off all immunosuppressant drugs within a year, […]
Shoreline Biosciences secures $140M for off-the-shelf NK cell therapies for cancer
Gilead Sciences and BeiGene, which started research alliances with Shoreline Biosciences earlier this year, are among the investors in the biotech’s latest financing. The preclinical-stage […]
Takeda buys GammaDelta to boost cancer cell therapy credentials
Japanese drugmaker Takeda has said it will exercise its option to buy UK-based GammaDelta Therapeutics, a specialist in ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapies for solid tumours and […]
Next Generation CAR-TCR Summit
The cell therapy field is showing no signs of slowing down, with huge investment and excitement around next generation products and their clinical validation in solid tumour […]
FDA halts Allogene CAR-T trial after safety scare
A phase 1 trial of Allogene’s of-the-shelf CAR-T for lymphoma has been placed on hold by the FDA, after a “chromosomal abnormality” was seen in […]
FDA halts all Allogene cell therapy trials after chromosome problem detected
All of Allogene Therapeutics’ clinical trials are now under an FDA clinical hold. The halt was handed down after one patient in the company’s most […]
Takeda bags Japanese approval for Crohn’s cell therapy Alofisel
Takeda has chalked up another milestone for its Alofisel cell therapy for a complication of Crohn’s disease, becoming the first allogeneic stem cell therapy to […]
Capricor preps phase 3 for Duchenne cell therapy as it seeks a partner
Capricor Therapeutics’ bid to find a partner for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) cell therapy CAP-1002 could get a boost after final phase 2 data […]
Capricor’s muscle drug data look good, but partner wanted and Phase 3 test needed
Capricor Therapeutics’ cell therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy posted encouraging results from a Phase 2 study enrolling 20 patients. But the FDA said a Phase […]
Repligen sees $150M Avitide acquisition as key to reaching gene therapy goals
Bioprocessing technologies company Repligen is acquiring Avitide, and its biologics purifying technology, in a $150 million cash and stock deal. Repligen said Avitide will help […]
Startup Walking Fish nabs $50M to run with B cell therapies for cancer & more
Walking Fish Therapeutics is developing cell therapies from B cells, a type of immune cell that produces prodigious amounts of proteins. Cancer, autoimmune disease, and […]
Roche bets $300M on Adaptimmune tech for off-the-shelf cell therapies for cancer
Roche is partnering with Adaptimmune Therapeutics to develop allogeneic cell therapies based on Adaptimmune’s technology. In addition to these “off-the-shelf” products, the partners will also […]
Roche dives further into cancer cell therapy with Adaptimmune deal
Roche has largely been a spectator on the side lines as other drugmakers have embraced cell therapies for cancer, but it has made a big […]
Hybrigenics says it wants a merger with Bone Therapeutics
French biopharma company Hybrigenics has made another bid to merge with Belgium’s Bone Therapeutics, a specialist in regenerative medicine that is still recovering from a […]
Startup Modulus embraces AI to design better NK cell therapies for cancer
Modulus Therapeutics recently emerged from stealth with technology from various disciplines and seed funding that the startup is using to develop better cell therapies. Natural […]
Kite takes the ‘Appian way’ to off-the-shelf cell therapies for cancer
Gilead Sciences’ Kite Pharma has mapped out another route to the development of allogeneic or ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapies for cancer, using technology developed by Appia […]
NHS sets aside £340m for new Innovative Medicines Fund
NHS England has matched its financial backing of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) with an equivalent pot of money for a new Innovative Medicines Fund […]
BioNTech Signs a Purchase Agreement to Acquire Kite’s Cell Therapy, R&D Platform and Manufacturing Facility in Gaithersburg, MD
Shots: Kite will receive a one-time upfront to purchase Kite’s individualized solid tumor neoantigen TCR discovery platform, R&D & clinical manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg. The […]
BioNTech grows in cell therapies, buying Kite’s TCR platform
BioNTech has found a use for some of the windfall cash it has raked in from its COVID-19 vaccine, agreeing a deal to buy Kite […]
Wugen unveils $172M to take natural killer cell therapies to solid tumors
Wugen, a biotech developing “off-the-shelf” natural killer and CAR T cell therapies, has raised $172 million in Series B financing. The company’s lead program has […]
Health Innovators – Jo Brewer, Adaptimmune
In this episode of Health Innovators, pharmaphorum founder Paul Tunnah interviews Jo Brewer, senior vice president of allogeneic research at UK company Adaptimmune which is transforming […]
Sigilon hemophilia A cell therapy trial placed on hold after patient complication
A hemophilia A patient in a Sigilon Therapeutics clinical trial developed a well-known complication to treatments for the blood disorder. The potential problem for Sigilon […]
INVEST Precision Medicine Conference Video: Biologics and the Supply Chain Ballet
This panel highlights how different organizations in the biopharma supply chain are addressing the inherent challenges of producing and delivering cell and gene therapies and […]
Gilead combs Shoreline for NK cell therapies in $2.3bn alliance
Gilead Sciences’ cell therapy Kite Pharma has bulked up its position in natural killer (NK) cell therapies, pledging up to $2.3 billion for a partnership […]
Cell Line Development and Characterization: An Ocean of Opportunities for Service Providers
The growing pipeline of monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, enzymes, biosimilars and other therapeutic proteins have created an ever- increasing demand for highly- productive and stable cell […]
Companies look to build a better “recipe” for manufacturing cell therapies
Cell and gene therapy companies already faced challenges in finding efficient ways to manufacture these new treatments. Then, the pandemic made these vulnerabilities even more […]
Bayer’s two-pronged cell/gene therapy assault on Parkinson’s enters clinic
Bayer subsidiary BlueRock Therapeutics has dosed the first Parkinson’s disease patient in a phase 1 trial of its cell-based therapy DA01, which aims to replenish […]
New Cell & Gene Therapy Collective seeks to boost UK adoption
The UK has been a global leader in introducing cell and gene therapies that can potentially transform the lives of patients with debilitating diseases – […]
Bayer’s BlueRock Therapeutics widens cell therapy scope to the eye under new pact
BlueRock Therapeutics, a Bayer subsidiary, is teaming up with Opsis Therapeutics and Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics in an R&D pact focused on developing stem cell therapies […]
Talaris Therapeutics’ IPO raises $150M to transform solid organ transplants
Three biotechs IPOs priced this week while one gene therapy developer postponed its plans. The biggest IPO belongs to Talaris Therapeutics, a company developing a […]
Tackling diabetes & ALS with cell therapy
Israeli company Kadimastem is developing regenerative medicine therapies based on differentiated cells derived from human embryonic stem cells to treat diseases such as Amyotrophic lateral […]
Cellares gets $82M to make cell therapy manufacturing automated, scalable
Cell therapy manufacturing is currently a manual, multi-step process that takes weeks. Startup Cellares, which is developing a system that automates the process and makes […]
Collaboration is key to advancing cell therapy research
Dr. Anne Kerber, VP, Head of Clinical Development, Europe at Kite, a Gilead Company, explains how the company works with researchers and physicians across Europe […]
Big data and cell therapy development: the pharmaphorum podcast
In the latest episode of the podcast pharmaphorum’s website editor Catherine Longworth speaks with Dr Darrin Disley, who’s the CEO of Mogrify. The UK biotechnology company […]
Cellino Biotech developing tech to help scale stem cell therapies
Cellino Biotech CEO and Co-founder Dr. Nabiha Saklayen talked about the formation of the company and its goal to make stem cell therapies accessible for […]
Cancer Research UK spinout Achilles raises $175.5m in IPO
UK biotech Achilles Therapeutics has completed its initial public offering (IPO) in the US, raising $175.5 million that will be used to take its personalised […]
9th PREDiCT: Tumor Models Cell Therapy Summit
With high stakes to satisfy unmet patient needs, cell therapy is a promising but challenging field of oncology. There is a crucial need to progress […]
Instil Bio’s upsized IPO raises $320M for clinical tests of TIL cancer cell therapy
Instil Bio, one of several companies developing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, will use its IPO cash to advance its clinical testing plans. Meanwhile, Finch Therapeutics and Gain […]
FDA fast tracks type 1 diabetes cell therapy from Vertex
Vertex Pharma has made its name with treatment for cystic fibrosis, but has big plans in cell and genetic therapies – and has just chalked […]
Lymphoma Action – championing the patient voice in cell therapy
Lymphoma Action is the only UK health charity dedicated to people affected by lymphoma. Chief Executive Ropinder Gill and Director of Operations and External Affairs […]
Heat Bio’s shares ignite on Opdivo combination data in NSCLC
The pairing of Heat Biologics’ lead drug HS-110 with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s blockbuster checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo has boosted survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer […]
BMS finally gets FDA OK for liso-cel, sets $410k launch price
Bristol-Myers Squibb finally has FDA approval for its CAR-T therapy liso-cel, which has been cleared by the US regulator as Breyanzi for certain forms of […]
Sana Bio soars in stock market debut, raising $588M for cell & gene therapies
Sana Biotechnology is turning new science into novel medicines intended to overcome limitations of current cell therapies. After going from stealth to IPO in two […]
Cellino Closes $16M Seed Financing led by The Engine and Khosla Ventures to Automate and Scale Stem Cell Manufacture
What You Should Know: – Cellino, a Cambridge, MA-based personalized regenerative medicine company developing an AI-guided laser editing platform for autologous cell-based therapies, today announced the […]
Gene editing: beyond the hype
Genome editing is an exciting but still nascent field, and companies in the area face as many obstacles as they do opportunities. Sangamo CEO Sandy […]
Oxford BioTherapeutics to research cell therapies for Gilead’s Kite
Gilead Sciences’ Kite unit has teamed up with the UK’s Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) to develop a new clutch of cell therapy products for solid tumours […]
Why cell therapy manufacture is a team sport
Louis van de Wiel, Vice President, Site Head EU Manufacturing, Kite, a Gilead Company, reveals the complexity that sits behind the process of individualised cell […]
Chasing BMS, J&J files BCMA CAR-T for multiple myeloma to FDA
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit has filed a rolling submission for its multiple myeloma CAR-T ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) to the FDA, in hot pursuit of […]
Catamaran joins the CAR-NK fleet, raising $42m in first round
Catamaran Bio has weighed anchor with a $42 million first-round financing that will be used to pull its off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapies for […]
Sanofi to acquire Kiadis and NK cell tech for $353 million
Sanofi is to acquire Kiadis, a biotech specialising in therapies based around ‘off the shelf’ natural killer (NK) cells, for 308 million euros ($353 million). […]
Bayer buys cell & gene therapy firm AskBio for $4 billion
Bayer is making clear its ambitions in cell and gene therapy with a $4 billion acquisition of US biotech Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, also known as AskBio. […]
StartUPDATES: New developments from healthcare startups
Check out new developments from healthcare startups including Bind, ChromaCode and more.
MD Anderson researchers find mechanisms behind CAR-T cells’ efficacy, toxicity
The findings may make it possible to identify a subset of patients who experience poorer outcomes or more serious side effects, especially neurotoxicity.
Triumvira Immunologics raises $55M in Series A funding round for new form of cancer cell therapy
The company hopes to use the money to bring its T-cell antigen coupler cell therapy technology – currently in preclinical development – into human clinical […]
Patient-to-Patient Supply for Cell Immunotherapies Summit
Achieving Standardization & Operational Excellence in Vein-to-Vein Supply As an increasing number of candidates enter the clinic and promise to be a mainstay in the […]
2nd Macrophage-directed Therapies Summit
Harnessing the Potential of Macrophage Therapies Using Small Molecule, Antibody & Cell Therapy based Approaches for Oncology and Beyond The $4.9 billion acquisition of Forty […]
Kiadis shares yo-yo on cell therapy trial for COVID-19
Shares in Netherlands biotech Kiadis rose sharply on the news that it would start developing a natural killer (NK) cell therapy for COVID-19, but later […]
Novartis plans to seek approval for CAR-T in slow-growing lymphoma after Phase II success
The company said the study of Kymriah in follicular lymphoma met its primary endpoint, though it did not disclose the trial data. It plans to […]
Preparing for an influx of cell and gene therapy approvals
Cell and gene therapies offer some of the most groundbreaking advancements in patient care the pharma industry has ever seen. However, to fully realise the […]
BMS, bluebird refile FDA approval application for CAR-T therapy in myeloma
The companies’ resubmission of their application Wednesday seeking approval for idecabtagene vicleucel was in line with the timeline they provided in May, when the FDA […]
Gilead’s Kite Pharma gets FDA nod for second CAR-T cell therapy
The agency approved Tecartus, previously developed under the name KTE-X19, as the first CAR-T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma. The company had previously won approval […]
FDA slaps hold on Cellectis’ off-the-shelf myeloma CAR-T trial after patient death
The patient, who had been enrolled in the Phase I study at the higher dose level of UCARTCS1A, suffered a cardiac arrest, the causes of […]
Cell Therapy: A Potential Treatment for COVID-19?
With the success of first vaccine to reach phase I clinical trial and turning out to be safe, well-tolerated, and capable of generating an immune […]
