Fresenius Kabi Partners with TQ Therapeutics to Develop Point-of-Care Cell Therapy Manufacturing System
核心洞察
Fresenius Kabi has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with TQ Therapeutics (搜索) to integrate proprietary cell selection technology into its Cue® Cell Processing System for automated T cell isolation.
The collaboration aims to create a point-of-care system that can isolate high-purity T cells (搜索) from whole blood in under two hours, potentially enabling CAR-T therapy (搜索) delivery closer to patients.
TQ Therapeutics (搜索)' platform integrates blood collection, cell enrichment, genetic modification and reinfusion in a closed system designed to deliver personalized immunotherapy in under five hours.
Fresenius Kabi and TQ Therapeutics (搜索) announced a strategic development agreement that could transform cell therapy (搜索) manufacturing by bringing production capabilities directly to the patient bedside. Under the exclusive licensing deal, Fresenius Kabi will develop, manufacture, and distribute products incorporating TQ Therapeutics' proprietary cell selection technology, with the goal of making cell and gene therapies more accessible through scalable manufacturing processes.
Automated T Cell Processing in Under Two Hours
The collaboration centers on integrating TQ Therapeutics (搜索)' affinity and column-based cell isolation technology into Fresenius Kabi's Cue® Cell Processing System. The combined platform aims to create an automated system capable of isolating T cells (搜索) from whole blood and apheresis products in less than two hours for cell and gene therapy (搜索) manufacturing applications.
"With this collaboration, we are reinforcing our commitment to innovation in cell and gene therapy (搜索) technology," said Saurabh Bhasin, Head of Portfolio, Cell Therapies & Contract Manufacturing Operations at Fresenius Kabi. "By integrating TQ Therapeutics (搜索)' novel selection technology into our Cue system, our aim is to improve manufacturing success and scalability—key steps toward supporting the advancement of cell and gene therapies."
Point-of-Care Cell Therapy Platform
TQ Therapeutics (搜索)' approach represents a significant departure from traditional cell therapy (搜索) manufacturing. The company's platform integrates blood collection, cell enrichment, genetic modification and reinfusion in a closed, automated system designed for bedside use. The technology is based on a reversible streptavidin–biotin process that enables gentle and highly selective isolation of T cells (搜索) from whole blood.
The goal is to enable hybrid extracorporeal in-vivo therapies that can deliver personalized immunotherapy in under five hours. While still in preclinical development, this approach could potentially combine the safety profile of ex-vivo cell therapy (搜索) with the advantages of in-vivo gene therapy (搜索).
Building on Previous Collaboration
The partnership builds on earlier work under the EU-funded EASYGEN project, which provided €8 million to optimize manufacturing processes. TQ Therapeutics (搜索) gained strategic positioning in the cell therapy (搜索) space through its acquisition of Juno Therapeutics (搜索) GmbH, the German subsidiary of CAR-T pioneer Juno Therapeutics Inc.
"This agreement with Fresenius Kabi allows us to bring our proprietary technology to a broader audience with the goal of accelerating the development of next-generation cell therapies," said Christian Eckert, chief executive officer of TQ Therapeutics (搜索). "With Fresenius Kabi's expertise in cell and gene therapy (搜索) device technologies development and commercialization, and TQ Therapeutics' focus on developing ultra-short processes for clinical cell therapies from manufacturing to in vivo applications, we are creating a novel value proposition for scaling and enabling the supply of cell therapies for broader patient populations."
Addressing Cell Therapy Accessibility Challenges
CAR-T therapies have demonstrated impressive results, particularly in hematological cancers (搜索), and are expanding into autoimmune diseases (搜索). However, high costs and limited manufacturing capacity have restricted patient access. TQ's decentralized, scalable platform aims to address these challenges by enabling therapeutic cell generation directly at the point of care.
The technology's potential to significantly reduce costs and manufacturing time could make cell therapies more widely available to patients. By simplifying the complex manufacturing processes traditionally required for personalized cell therapies, the platform could transform cell therapy (搜索) from a highly specialized procedure into a more routine treatment option comparable to dialysis.