Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT), a medical technology company advancing blood- and cell-based therapies worldwide, has entered a research collaboration with TrAMPoline Pharma and Eduardo Davila, PhD, at the University of Colorado to develop an automated manufacturing approach for tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies targeting solid tumours.
The automated approach is intended to support manufacturing of TrAMPoline Pharma’s lead therapeutic candidate, MightyTIL, as the company scales up for clinical trials.
Because TILs are derived from immune cells that have already infiltrated the tumour microenvironment, they are being explored as a promising approach for solid tumours, an area where traditional CAR-T therapies have faced biological and manufacturing challenges.
TIL starting material is a complex mixture of disaggregated tissue that may contain few T cells that may not expand as readily as T cells found in circulation.
TIL therapies also require significantly higher numbers of expanded T cells to achieve a therapeutic dose.
As a result, TIL therapy developers have been working to improve this expensive and heavily manual cell expansion stage.
By automating key processes on Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex Cell Expansion System, the partners aim to improve consistency, reduce labour requirements and reagent consumption and support clinical-scale production of genetically modified TILs for solid tumour therapies.
“Dr. Davila’s advanced work to improve T cell infiltration in solid tumors laid the groundwork for TrAMPoline Pharma’s TIL therapy programs, making him an ideal partner to establish the automated manufacturing processes that could support the development and future scale-up of these therapies,” said Mindy Miller, Head of Scientific Development and Engagement at Terumo BCT.
“We remain eager to work with leading investigators to develop the protocols that enable clinical and commercial scalability for novel cell-based therapies. Patients desperately need these new approaches to move from great ideas to life-changing treatments, and we’re dedicated to making that happen.”
“Our goal is to develop a manufacturing approach that preserves the biological potential of these therapies while making production more practical for broader clinical evaluation,” said Eduardo Davila, Director of Immunotherapy, Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Combining our TIL expertise with Terumo BCT's automation technology creates an exciting opportunity to advance the development of therapies for patients with solid tumors. We look forward to publishing the results that will support our work and move the field forward.”
