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Bristol Myers Ends Cellares Partnership
25 Aug
Summary
- Bristol Myers ended its partnership with Cellares for Breyanzi manufacturing.
- Cellares' platform failed to meet commercial scale requirements for Breyanzi.
- The termination impacts Cellares' workforce and highlights CAR-T production challenges.
Bristol Myers Squibb has ended its collaboration with Cellares, a cell therapy startup, regarding the manufacturing of its personalized blood cancer therapy, Breyanzi. The partnership, established in 2024 with a potential value of up to $380 million, was intended to expand production capacity across the United States, European Union, and Japan.
Bristol Myers determined that Cellares' Cell Shuttle manufacturing platform could not fulfill the necessary requirements for producing Breyanzi at a commercial scale. This decision specifically pertains to Breyanzi and its established manufacturing process, leaving other CAR-T therapies unaffected.
The termination follows a LinkedIn post by Cellares CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus over the weekend, who disclosed the loss of a major pharmaceutical client. This development is expected to necessitate a 'resizing' of the company's workforce, indicating potential layoffs.
CAR-T therapies, which involve reprogramming a patient's immune cells to combat cancer, have revolutionized treatment for some blood cancer patients. However, their complex and personalized nature presents persistent difficulties and high costs in manufacturing, as highlighted by this situation.
