Cellistic, a pioneer in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, has launched Allo Chassis™ – a breakthrough line of ready-to-use, immune-cloaked iPSC cell lines that promises to transform cell therapy development by significantly reducing both time and costs.
The newly available cell lines are derived from CD34+ and CD4+ T-cell primary cells and feature gene modifications that delete HLA class I and II, effectively creating "immune-cloaked" cells that can potentially evade rejection by a recipient's immune system. This innovation addresses one of the most significant challenges in allogeneic cell therapy development.
"Allo Chassis™ provides therapeutic developers with iPSC starting material featuring the most commonly used gene modifications, resulting in the deletion of HLA class I and II. These off-the-shelf cell lines can be efficiently customized using our STAR-CRISPR™ gene editing technology, enabling rapid creation of product-specific master cell banks at a significantly reduced cost," explained Stefan Braam, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Cellistic.
Advanced Gene Editing Technology
The cell lines were developed using Cellistic's proprietary STAR-CRISPR™ gene editing technology, which offers partners access to advanced gene editing capabilities with a clear intellectual property licensing route to commercialization. This addresses another critical barrier in the cell therapy development landscape – navigating complex IP considerations.
Importantly, the cGMP Allo Chassis™ cell banks are produced with validated workflows, rigorous quality control, and state-of-the-art automation to ensure the delivery of high-quality, low-passage cell lines ready for therapeutic applications. This adherence to current Good Manufacturing Practice standards means developers can incorporate these cells into their clinical development programs with confidence.
Accelerating Development Timelines
The cell therapy field has faced significant challenges in scaling production and reducing costs, which has limited patient access to these potentially transformative treatments. By providing off-the-shelf, immune-cloaked starting materials, Cellistic aims to compress development timelines and reduce the financial burden of bringing new cell therapies to market.
The company's approach leverages the significant advantages of iPSCs, which can be expanded indefinitely and differentiated into various cell types. This makes them particularly valuable for developing off-the-shelf cell therapies that don't rely on patient-specific starting materials.
Expanding the Cell Therapy Landscape
Cellistic has positioned itself as a specialized partner in the development and manufacture of immune cell therapies based on human iPSC technology. The company utilizes its Pulse™ and Echo™ Platform for these processes, drawing on more than a decade of scientific and technical expertise in iPSC reprogramming, gene editing, and differentiation development.
The immediate availability of Allo Chassis™ CD34+ and CD4+ T-cell derived immune-cloaked cell banks represents a significant advancement for researchers and therapeutic developers working on next-generation cell therapies. By providing these ready-to-use resources, Cellistic aims to accelerate the development of market-ready therapies and ultimately improve patient access to essential treatments.
Industry Impact
The launch of Allo Chassis™ comes at a critical time for the cell therapy industry, which is seeking more efficient and cost-effective approaches to developing allogeneic (off-the-shelf) therapies. Current autologous cell therapies, which use a patient's own cells, face manufacturing challenges, high costs, and lengthy production times.
With these immune-cloaked iPSC cell lines, developers can potentially create standardized therapies that overcome histocompatibility barriers without requiring extensive genetic engineering for each new product candidate. This could dramatically expand the range of conditions treatable with cell therapies and make these treatments available to more patients globally.
Cellistic, based in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, continues to build on its expertise in iPSC technology to support the advancement of novel cell therapies into clinical development and eventually to patients in need.
