Charles River Laboratories International Inc. and Captain T Cell, a spinoff from the Max Delbrück Center Berlin, Germany, have signed a plasmid DNA and retrovirus vector production program agreement.
 
As part of Charles River’s Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Accelerator Program (CAP), Captain T Cell will have access to established plasmid and viral vector contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) capabilities and advisory services ahead of Captain T Cell’s plan to manufacture a TCR-T cell therapy for solid tumor patients for a Phase I clinical trial.

Giving New Patient Groups Access to T Cell Immunotherapies

Intending to give new patient groups access to T cell immunotherapies, Captain T Cell is developing efficacy-enhanced treatment options for solid tumor therapies. Using a toolbox of next-generation technologies, Captain T Cell generates T cells displaying tumor-specific T cell receptors (TCR) as well as enhanced persistence and the capacity to cope with the hostile tumor microenvironment of difficult-to-treat solid tumors. Once infused into a patient’s body, these tumor-specific T cells are designed to find and destroy tumor cells. This therapeutic method may provide an option for patients with tumors that no longer respond to other therapies.
 
To bring its gene-modified cell therapy to clinic, Captain T Cell will leverage Charles River’s established plasmid and viral vector production capabilities, finetuned over decades supporting CGT developers from pre-clinical to commercial scale.
 
In recent years, Charles River has significantly broadened its cell and gene therapy portfolio with several acquisition integrations and expansions to simplify complex supply chains and meet growing demand for plasmid DNA, viral vector, and cell therapy services. Combined with its legacy testing capabilities, Charles River offers a premier “concept-to-cure” advanced therapies solution.
 
“We are thrilled to work with the Captain T Cell team to support the manufacture of its TCR-T cell cancer immunotherapy. Charles River has decades of success reliably manufacturing plasmid DNA, viral vectors, and cell therapies, helping to safeguard our customer programs and bring potential therapies to patients with limited options,” remarked Kerstin Dolph, Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing, Charles River.
 
Felix Lorenz, CEO, Captain T Cell, said, “Captain T Cell is devoted to developing a new generation of toolbox-engineered T cell-based immunotherapies for solid tumor patients. We have the utmost confidence in the expertise of Charles River as we work to bring our lead candidate to the clinic.”