Bristol and Cellares Declares $380 mn Supply Pact To Produce Cell Therapies

In a deal worth up to $380 million in upfront and milestone payments, Bristol Myers Squibb and Cellares, the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) dedicated to clinical and industrial-scale cell therapy manufacturing, declared a worldwide capacity reservation and supply pact for the production of CAR T cell therapies.

Select Bristol Myers Squibb CAR T cell therapies will be transferred to Cellares' automated and high-throughput manufacturing platform, the Cell Shuttle, for optimization, automation, and technology transfer as part of the agreement. For Bristol Myers Squibb's exclusive use, Cellares will dedicate a number of fully automated, high-throughput quality control Cell Shuttle and Cell Q systems. In the US, EU, and Japan, Cellares' Smart Factories will be used to deploy the Cell Shuttles and Cell Qs.

Cell therapy manufacturing is both technically and operationally difficult. The demand for cell therapies is significantly rising as a result of their rapid transformation in the treatment of numerous diseases. Through a platform that is scalable and has the potential to improve turnaround time, Bristol Myers Squibb is able to expand its manufacturing capacity, meeting the growing demand for its diverse range of cell therapies and bringing the promise of cell therapies to a greater number of patients more quickly.

“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,” said Lynelle B. Hoch, president, Cell Therapy Organization, Bristol Myers Squibb. “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.”