Automated cell therapy manufacturing specialist Cellares is joining forces with Taiwanese biotech GenomeFrontier Therapeutics to advance virus-free CAR-T production.
The partnership will assess whether GenomeFrontier’s virus-free manufacturing process is compatible with Cellares’ proprietary Cell Shuttle platform.
The collaboration centres on producing GenomeFrontier’s investigational cell therapy GF-CART01, currently at phase 1 in its most advanced clinical program.
GF-CART01 targets B-cell malignancies including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma and high-grade B-cell lymphoma.
Unlike commercially approved CAR-T therapies that depend on viral vectors, GenomeFrontier is pursuing a virus-free manufacturing approach that research suggests could significantly reduce costs and manufacturing complexities.
A key focus of the collaboration will be supporting transfection unit operations using Cellares’ proprietary integrated electroporator within the Cell Shuttle platform.
Autologous CAR-T manufacturing remains labour-intensive, variable and difficult to scale, creating persistent challenges around reliability, cost and patient access.
GenomeFrontier founder, CEO and CSO Sareina Wu said: “Our virus-free approach is central to the development of GF-CART01, and this collaboration with Cellares allows us to evaluate how that process can be translated to an automated manufacturing platform as we expand our clinical development in the U.S.”
Cellares co-founder and CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus said: “GenomeFrontier’s virus-free approach reflects the increasing complexity of next-generation cell therapy manufacturing.”
Gerlinghaus added: “The Cell Shuttle is built to automate complex processes, including electroporation-based workflows, with the scalability and reliability needed as therapies advance through clinical development.”
The partnership represents Cellares’ first collaboration with a cell therapy developer based in Asia, marking a significant step in the company’s international expansion strategy.
GF-CART01 has already demonstrated positive clinical trial data in Taiwan, with patient recruitment currently ongoing for a Phase I trial in the United States.
The two companies aim to establish a manufacturing strategy capable of improving reliability, reducing production costs and ultimately broadening patient access as GF-CART01 advances through development.