Bristol Myers Squibb and Cellares, which is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) dedicated to clinical and industrial-scale cell therapy manufacturing, announced a worldwide capacity reservation and supply agreement for the manufacture of CAR T cell therapies valued at up to $380 million in upfront and milestone payments.
As part of this agreement, Cellares will optimize, automate, and tech-transfer select Bristol Myers Squibb CAR T cell therapies onto its automated and high-throughput manufacturing platform, the Cell Shuttle. And Cellares will dedicate multiple Cell Shuttle and Cell Q systems with fully automated, high-throughput quality control for Bristol Myers Squibb’s exclusive use. The Cell Shuttles and Cell Qs will be deployed in Cellares’ Smart Factories in the U.S., EU, and Japan.
Manufacturing cell therapies are operationally and technically complex. Since cell therapies rapidly transform how many different diseases are treated, the demand for these treatments is increasing significantly. This partnership enables Bristol Myers Squibb to expand its manufacturing capacity, meeting the growing demand for its diverse range of cell therapies through a scalable platform that can potentially improve turnaround time, bringing the promise of cell therapies to more patients faster.
This deal expands upon the existing collaborations between Bristol Myers Squibb and Cellares. And in August 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb participated in Cellares’ Series C financing to launch the first IDMO Smart Factory to meet the demand for cell therapies globally. That same month, Bristol Myers Squibb joined Cellares’ Technology Adoption Partnership (TAP) Program to evaluate the Cell Shuttle’s automated manufacturing capabilities.
KEY QUOTES:
“The agreement with Cellares is our latest step forward in support of our comprehensive strategy to unlock the full potential of CAR T therapy to deliver transformative treatments to as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible. Our collaboration with Cellares strengthens our existing internal manufacturing capabilities for CAR T cell therapies by giving us access to the first end-to-end fully automated cell therapy manufacturing platform, to help ensure we meet the high demand for these differentiated treatments, now and in the future.”
– Lynelle B. Hoch, president, Cell Therapy Organization, Bristol Myers Squibb
“This agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb is aligned with our strategy of establishing a global network of high-throughput, automated Smart Factories to meet the growing and worldwide demand for cell therapies. We look forward to demonstrating how our innovative technology’s emphasis on standardization will accelerate commercial-scale manufacturing and worldwide deployment. Our collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb and our collective expertise furthers our mission to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies for patients globally.”
– Fabian Gerlinghaus, CEO and co-founder of Cellares
