CellQuest, a developer and manufacturer of automated chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell production platforms and solutions, has launched its Early Access Program (EAP) to introduce the CosyNest manufacturing platform to cell therapy developers.
 
CosyNest, a closed manufacturing system, has been designed to dramatically increase the production of CAR-T cells per person, and per unit area.
 
After five years of R&D, CellQuest believes CosyNest is poised to broaden access to CAR-T therapies by increasing manufacturing throughput by 30x, at a tenth of the cost. During the EAP, CellQuest will test the entire CAR-T cell production process on its site, using the raw materials requested by the partner, and provide a full report on the cells obtained. Once the results are satisfactory, a machine will be installed at the partner’s site for full evaluation of the biological performance and general ergonomics of the system.
 
The first participant has already committed to joining the program, and multiple companies have expressed interest in accessing CosyNest through the EAP, which can accommodate ten simultaneous participants in the runup to commercialization next year. CellQuest is especially interested in participants in close proximity to one another, to enable efficient monitoring of tests and processes.
 
“CAR-T cell therapy is one of the most promising treatments in the fight against life-threatening illnesses, with remarkable success against some of the most aggressive cancers and the potential to treat even more in the future. However, mass production remains a roadblock in getting them to the patients who need them,” said Guillaume Wallart, CEO, CellQuest. “The Early Access Program will enable partners to use the CosyNest to bring costs down and increase yields. These tests will ultimately allow the CosyNest to make CAR-Ts as accessible as they should be for patients.”
 
The first EAP partner testing in CosyNests will begin this summer.